Kwäday Dän Ts’ìnchi
| Kwäday Dän Ts'ìnchi | |
|---|---|
| Born |
c. 1450–1700 AD British Columbia, Canada |
| Died | Summertime, c. 1450–1700 AD (about 20 years of age at time of death) Tatshenshini-Alsek Provincial Park, near the Yukon border |
| Other names | Canadian Ice Man |
| Known for | Oldest natural mummy found in the Americas |
| Website | Kwaday Dän Ts'inchi Project Introduction |
Kwäday Dän Ts'ìnchi (meaning Long Ago Person Found in Southern Tutchone), or Canadian Ice Man, is a naturally mummified body found in Tatshenshini-Alsek Park in British Columbia, Canada, by a group of hunters in 1999. Radiocarbon dating of artifacts found with the body placed the age of the body at between 300 and 550 years. The find was comparable in condition and scientific value to Ötzi the Iceman, remains dating to 3300 BC that were found in the Ötztal Alps in 1991.
DNA testing of more than 240 volunteers from the local Champagne and Aishihik First Nations revealed 17 persons who are related to the ice man through their direct maternal line. They were excited to have their deep connections to the area affirmed.
Three sheep hunters, Bill Hanlon, Warren Ward and Mike Roche, discovered a number of artifacts and a human body in a melting glacier while hunting near the Yukon border on July 22, 1999 (60°N 138°W / 60°N 138°W). The hunters were walking along a glacier, above the tree line, and noticed some bits of wood, which they thought unusual given their location. They examined the wood, and noticed carvings and notches, possibly indicating the wood formed the frame of a backpack. Searching with binoculars, Ward discovered the body in the ice. On August 16, the party reported their find to Beringia Centre staff, and turned in a number of artifacts they collected from the site.
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