Autopsy Reveals Ancient Girl Found Frozen in Alaska Suffered From Rare Congenital Disease Beth Gaston February 7, 1995 The body of a young girl, found emerging from the permafrost near Barrow, Alaska, in August of 1994 has been dated at about AD 1200. An autopsy indicated the girl starved to death, but was also suffering from a rare congenital disease. The site in which she was found is archeologically rich, containing artifacts from three different cultures. On Monday, February 6, the investigators gave a presentation of excavation and autopsy results to the Barrow Elders, who set the excavation protocols for the child. According to all involved, this project has displayed unprecedented cooperation among the elders, the community and the scientists. The girl, who was between 4 and 8 years old, died about AD 1200, according to corrected radiocarbon dates. An autopsy by Michael R. Zimmerman, Director of the Center for Clinical Laboratories at Mt. Sinai Medical Center in New York, professor of pathology, and an expert on frozen bodies, indicated the child suffered from a congenital disease that may have contributed to her death. Starvation was the immediate cause of death, Zimmerman said, adding that the girl had animal fur and dirt in her intestinal tract which indicates she ate some non-food item. But she also had emphysema -- common today mostly among smokers and older adults. The cause of her emphysema was a rare congenital disease, Alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency (A1AT deficiency). In modern Americans, this disease is found at a frequency of two out of every 10,000 individuals. When a person gets a lung infection, cells migrate from the blood into the lungs and produce a chemical to kill the invading bacteria. The body then produces another enzyme (A1AT) to destroy the destructive chemicals. People with A1AT-deficiency do not produce the second set of enzymes -- and the same chemicals that destroy the bacteria also damage the lung tissue, resulting in emphysema. A1AT-deficiency is diagnosed by identifying an abnormal precursor that builds up in the liver, causing liver damage, which was also seen in this girl. The girl also had soot in her lungs -- common in cultures that have open fires for cooking and heating. She had osteoporosis because of a diet consisting almost exclusively of meat from marine mammals, common for her culture. Glenn W. Sheehan and Anne M. Jensen of Bryn Mawr College excavated the site where the girl was discovered -- a site with a long history. The girl's grave was a meat cellar that had been dug through an abandoned semi- subterranean house. That house had harpoon heads on the floor that date it to the Birnirk culture, approximately AD 800. The Birnirk people were the first successful whalers in the region. The girl, buried about 400 years later, belonged to the Thule people, successors to the Birnirk. The girl was found clad in a bird skin and feather parka. A 4-foot baleen toboggan and a stitched skin that may be part of a kayak cover were covering the body. Though details about
childrens' burials are not known, "the fact that they placed her in a secure area and put those things on her indicates
a great deal of care," Sheehan said, "especially when you realize the
little girl probably required extra attention throughout her brief life." The Thule people originally were quite mobile, and moved up and down the coast hunting whales. "If our calibration is correct and she's from AD 1200, things were changing for the Thule. As the weather deteriorated, the people settled into villages," Sheehan said. It was not until 100 years or more after her burial that settled whaling villages were formed, including the one to which the well known "frozen family" discovered in 1982 belonged. That family was killed when their house collapsed and their remains were untouched for centuries. The frozen family was found within 40 feet of the little girl, but they dated more recently, to about AD 1500. The girl was found in the Ukkuqsi area of prehistoric Utqiagvik village (today's Barrow). Jensen and Sheehan excavated the child at the Barrow Elders' request and with support from the North Slope Borough's Commission on Inupiat History, Language and Culture, and from the National Science Foundation, Office of Polar Programs. Volunteers also helped excavate the surrounding area and found several museum-quality artifacts including the first window ever unearthed, Sheehan said. The window is made from a stretched piece of gut from a marine mammal. Archeologists knew the dwellings had windows based on written descriptions, but had never before recovered one intact. he Barrow Elders were the first to review the evidence from the site. The archaeologists will talk with school children and adult groups in Barrow and Wainwright, where they will also present initial findings from their 1994 research at the prehistoric whaling village of Pingasagruk on Point Franklin. Jensen and Zimmerman will make initial professional presentations in late March 1995 at the Alaska Anthropological Association meetings in Anchorage. Sheehan and Jensen's National Science Foundation project at Point Franklin will start its second of three seasons at Point Franklin on the Arctic coast this summer.* -end- NOTE TO EDITORS: Slides of the excavation, surrounding site and artifacts are available by contacting Glenn Sheehan, (610) 2723144. Video of the investigators' presentations, the site excavation and the excavation of the frozen family site are available through Marc Olson, executive producer with the North Slope Borough TV Studio (907) 852-0325; fax: (907) 852-0404. *The season will include volunteer researchers from Earthwatch. Prospective volunteers can call Earthwatch at (800) 776-0188.
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