SVALBARD, NORWAY—The remains of 20 whalers have been uncovered in a High Arctic cemetery damaged by rapid warming by Lise Loktu of the Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research and Elin Therese Brødholt of Oslo University Hospital, according to a Live Science report. The cemetery—known as Likneset, Norwegian for “Corpse Point”—is located on an island in the Svalbard archipelago between the North Pole and the northern coast of Norway. “Early modern Arctic whaling was among Europe’s first large-scale extractive industries, and the labor was highly manual,” Loktu said. The condition of the skeletons reflects the heavy labor involved with rowing boats, hauling live whales, towing carcasses, processing blubber, and working on whaling ships, in the form of degenerative joint disease, injuries, and damage in the shoulders, upper chest, spine, hips, knees, and feet. “Several very young adults already show advanced wear and degeneration normally associated with much later stages of life,” Loktu said. The skeletons also bear signs of scurvy, or vitamin C deficiency. “Scurvy does not only affect bones; it also compromises the immune system, increases vulnerability to infection, weakens wound healing, and contributes to overall physical decline,” Loktu said. Circular indentations in the men’s tooth enamel suggest that they smoked pipes, which can also deplete vitamin C. Read the original scholarly article about this research in PLOS One. To read about the earliest known whalers, go to "Artifact: Ancient Brazilian Harpoons."
