The Mystery of the Bog, Tollund and Narabeen Man - and how they were preserved
Introduction
This report compares the discovery of the Tolland man and the discovery of the Narrabeen man. Both these people lived in ancient times and their bodies were preserved through natural occurrences. This report will outline the sequence of events that led up to the discovery of the bodies, how the bodies were preserved, archaeological discoveries, analysis and interpretations it will also outline the significance of these discoveries to the scientific and archaeological world and also the world we live in today.
Background information
The Tolland man
The Tollund man was found On May 6th 1950 at Bjeldskovdal bog by two brothers Viggo and Emil Højgaard. They contacted the police thinking that it was a recent murder. They later found out that it wasn’t a murder and contacted P.V. Glob an archaeologist to analyze the remains of the body which was later named the Tolland man. After digging out the surrounding peat P.V. Glob saw a man laying down curled up as if sleeping with a rope around his neck and a belt around his waist. After further testing and Radiocarbon Dating it was found the Tollund man died over 2500 years ago or 210 BC.
The Narrabeen man
In January 2005 when contractors were digging a trench for a gas pipeline in the Octavia street bus stop in Narrabeen New South Wales they uncovered remains of a gruesome aboriginal body in skeleton form. This was one of the first spearing deaths known in Australia. Dr Jo McDonald from Cultural Heritage Management was one of the first archaeologists to examine the remains. She discovered forensic information about who the Narrabeen man was, where he came from and even what he ate. The archaeologists sent a sample of the remains to the Lawrence Livermore national laboratory in California America for Radiocarbon Dating it was found the Narrabeen man died 4000 years ago or in 2000 BC.
This report compares the discovery of the Tolland man and the discovery of the Narrabeen man. Both these people lived in ancient times and their bodies were preserved through natural occurrences. This report will outline the sequence of events that led up to the discovery of the bodies, how the bodies were preserved, archaeological discoveries, analysis and interpretations it will also outline the significance of these discoveries to the scientific and archaeological world and also the world we live in today.
Background information
The Tolland man
The Tollund man was found On May 6th 1950 at Bjeldskovdal bog by two brothers Viggo and Emil Højgaard. They contacted the police thinking that it was a recent murder. They later found out that it wasn’t a murder and contacted P.V. Glob an archaeologist to analyze the remains of the body which was later named the Tolland man. After digging out the surrounding peat P.V. Glob saw a man laying down curled up as if sleeping with a rope around his neck and a belt around his waist. After further testing and Radiocarbon Dating it was found the Tollund man died over 2500 years ago or 210 BC.
The Narrabeen man
In January 2005 when contractors were digging a trench for a gas pipeline in the Octavia street bus stop in Narrabeen New South Wales they uncovered remains of a gruesome aboriginal body in skeleton form. This was one of the first spearing deaths known in Australia. Dr Jo McDonald from Cultural Heritage Management was one of the first archaeologists to examine the remains. She discovered forensic information about who the Narrabeen man was, where he came from and even what he ate. The archaeologists sent a sample of the remains to the Lawrence Livermore national laboratory in California America for Radiocarbon Dating it was found the Narrabeen man died 4000 years ago or in 2000 BC.
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The preservation of the bodies
The Tollund man
The Tollund man was preserved in a peat bog in Bjeldskovdal. To preserve a body means that it does not decay or decompose similar to mummifying a body. The Tollund man was preserved in a peat bog which was connected to the North Sea. Preservation in the bog occurred when the winds from the North Sea carry salt through the rivers and to the bog. This allows a special type of plant to take over the bog called peat moss or peat bog this plant releases an acid into the water and when the plant rots more acid is released called humic acid this preserved the whole body of the Tollund man. The Tollund man was also killed in early spring when the temperature was low allowing the body to avoid decaying because bacteria does not grow in low temperatures. When they found the body and introduced it into bacteria filled while analyzing the body it started to decay so they had to preserve the body on multiple preservation baths. The peat bog preserved the body of the Tollund man for over 2500 years.
The Narrabeen man
The Narrabeen man was killed on the northern coast of New South Wales in the Sydney basin. When the Narrabeen man was killed the seas were 1.5 meters higher than they are today. The Narrabeen man died on the sand in the Sydney basin the sand was the only thing that preserved his body for so long. Bones in a human body generally decay within hundreds of years the bones of the Narrabeen man did not decay for over 4000 years this is because the sand preserved his body. Sand preserves bodies (corpses) as it absorbs water from the corpse. Since the human body is 75% water the sand absorbs water essentially drying the bodies. The body does not have any moisture so bacteria can’t thrive in the corpse thus resulting in preservation.
The Tollund man
The Tollund man was preserved in a peat bog in Bjeldskovdal. To preserve a body means that it does not decay or decompose similar to mummifying a body. The Tollund man was preserved in a peat bog which was connected to the North Sea. Preservation in the bog occurred when the winds from the North Sea carry salt through the rivers and to the bog. This allows a special type of plant to take over the bog called peat moss or peat bog this plant releases an acid into the water and when the plant rots more acid is released called humic acid this preserved the whole body of the Tollund man. The Tollund man was also killed in early spring when the temperature was low allowing the body to avoid decaying because bacteria does not grow in low temperatures. When they found the body and introduced it into bacteria filled while analyzing the body it started to decay so they had to preserve the body on multiple preservation baths. The peat bog preserved the body of the Tollund man for over 2500 years.
The Narrabeen man
The Narrabeen man was killed on the northern coast of New South Wales in the Sydney basin. When the Narrabeen man was killed the seas were 1.5 meters higher than they are today. The Narrabeen man died on the sand in the Sydney basin the sand was the only thing that preserved his body for so long. Bones in a human body generally decay within hundreds of years the bones of the Narrabeen man did not decay for over 4000 years this is because the sand preserved his body. Sand preserves bodies (corpses) as it absorbs water from the corpse. Since the human body is 75% water the sand absorbs water essentially drying the bodies. The body does not have any moisture so bacteria can’t thrive in the corpse thus resulting in preservation.
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Archaeological evidence and interpretations
The Tollund man
The body of the Tollund man was examined by Danish archaeologist P.V. Glob and his team. When they analysed his intestine they found a coarse liquid soup containing seeds, barley, weeds and other organic material. This would suggest that he was either kept in captivity or had eaten his last meal before he was sacrificed.
The most likely cause of death for the Tollund man was sacrifice as people at that time used to sacrifice human bodies/life in spring to the Spring Goddess. The Tollund man was hung as he had swallowed his tongue a known characteristic for hanging. When he was found a rope was around his neck supporting the theory. An iron neck ring was found near the Tollund man, also a small statue doll was found both symbolizing the spring goddess. After death his body was well treated and gently place into the peat bog. Marshes/peat bogs were chosen as places for sacrifice because of their strange quality, neither solid ground nor water. The Tollund man died around the Iron Age and people at the time thought bogs held a religious significance as the entrance to the world of the Gods. All this evidence would suggest that the Tollund man was sacrificed for religious purposes to the Spring Goddess.
Narrabeen man
The body of the Narrabeen man was examined by Dr Jo McDonald and her team. She discovered Fish bones near the abdominal region suggesting the man was on a marine diet and that he was a coastal dweller.
The Narrabeen man was a victim of spearing (one of the first known cases in Australia). These aboriginal death spears had lots of sharp rocks on a pointed stick bound together with resin. The Narrabeen man had rock debris from the death spears lodged in the second and third lumbar vertebra that had also pierced the small and large intestine and possibly the kidney. The last death spear had hit the eleventh thoracic vertebra. A stone implement was also thrown at the Narrabeen man’s cranium causing immense trauma and possibly a concussion. Totally 17 pieces of stone were embedded in the Narrabeen man’s body.
The most likely cause of death for the Narrabeen man was revenge from the local mobs. Dr Denise Donlan predicted he was 183 centimeters tall from an analysis of his bones. This height was high for an aboriginal man in that area suggesting he was not from that area or mob. He must have done something bad to that mob (Ku-ring-gai Garrigal mob) thus resulting in a very vicious, painful and traumatic death by the mob.
The Tollund man
The body of the Tollund man was examined by Danish archaeologist P.V. Glob and his team. When they analysed his intestine they found a coarse liquid soup containing seeds, barley, weeds and other organic material. This would suggest that he was either kept in captivity or had eaten his last meal before he was sacrificed.
The most likely cause of death for the Tollund man was sacrifice as people at that time used to sacrifice human bodies/life in spring to the Spring Goddess. The Tollund man was hung as he had swallowed his tongue a known characteristic for hanging. When he was found a rope was around his neck supporting the theory. An iron neck ring was found near the Tollund man, also a small statue doll was found both symbolizing the spring goddess. After death his body was well treated and gently place into the peat bog. Marshes/peat bogs were chosen as places for sacrifice because of their strange quality, neither solid ground nor water. The Tollund man died around the Iron Age and people at the time thought bogs held a religious significance as the entrance to the world of the Gods. All this evidence would suggest that the Tollund man was sacrificed for religious purposes to the Spring Goddess.
Narrabeen man
The body of the Narrabeen man was examined by Dr Jo McDonald and her team. She discovered Fish bones near the abdominal region suggesting the man was on a marine diet and that he was a coastal dweller.
The Narrabeen man was a victim of spearing (one of the first known cases in Australia). These aboriginal death spears had lots of sharp rocks on a pointed stick bound together with resin. The Narrabeen man had rock debris from the death spears lodged in the second and third lumbar vertebra that had also pierced the small and large intestine and possibly the kidney. The last death spear had hit the eleventh thoracic vertebra. A stone implement was also thrown at the Narrabeen man’s cranium causing immense trauma and possibly a concussion. Totally 17 pieces of stone were embedded in the Narrabeen man’s body.
The most likely cause of death for the Narrabeen man was revenge from the local mobs. Dr Denise Donlan predicted he was 183 centimeters tall from an analysis of his bones. This height was high for an aboriginal man in that area suggesting he was not from that area or mob. He must have done something bad to that mob (Ku-ring-gai Garrigal mob) thus resulting in a very vicious, painful and traumatic death by the mob.
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The significance of these discoveries
The discovery of both the Narrabeen man and the Tollund man benefited the community and many others. The discovery of the Narrabeen man benefited the widespread aboriginal communities with information on how their ancestors lived and what they can learn from their ancestors. Dr Jo McDonald one of the archaeologists examining the remains of the Narrabeen man said ‘’it shows how archaeological research can provide aboriginal communities with the types of information they want to know about their ancestors’’.
The discovery of the Tollund man provided valuable information to the Danish people about their history, where they came from and how their ancestors lived and in this case, sacrificed. April Holoway a report writer said that ‘’the incredible discovery of Tollund Man has brought to life in vivid detail the lives and deaths of the people of prehistoric Denmark’’.
The discoveries of the Tollund man and the Narrabeen man has provided information to the local communities of these ancient people. They provide information outlining how their ancestors lived, what traditions they had at that time and if they still do the things that they did at that time. They also provided valuable insights into the people that they are and the reasons why they are the way they are.
The discovery of both the Narrabeen man and the Tollund man benefited the community and many others. The discovery of the Narrabeen man benefited the widespread aboriginal communities with information on how their ancestors lived and what they can learn from their ancestors. Dr Jo McDonald one of the archaeologists examining the remains of the Narrabeen man said ‘’it shows how archaeological research can provide aboriginal communities with the types of information they want to know about their ancestors’’.
The discovery of the Tollund man provided valuable information to the Danish people about their history, where they came from and how their ancestors lived and in this case, sacrificed. April Holoway a report writer said that ‘’the incredible discovery of Tollund Man has brought to life in vivid detail the lives and deaths of the people of prehistoric Denmark’’.
The discoveries of the Tollund man and the Narrabeen man has provided information to the local communities of these ancient people. They provide information outlining how their ancestors lived, what traditions they had at that time and if they still do the things that they did at that time. They also provided valuable insights into the people that they are and the reasons why they are the way they are.