Dutch whalers near Spitsbergen, Svalbard (painting by Abraham Storck, 1690)
Whaler bones reveal the human cost of the first European “oil industry” in the Svalbard archipelago.
The accelerated warming of the Arctic is exposing human remains buried for centuries in the archipelago of Svalbardwhere it is forbidden to die and which for the same reason has been called the “archipelago of immortals”.
The hard life, illness and death of European whalers from the 17th and 18th centuries now takes on new contours, thanks to the study in PLOS One.
In Likneset, on the northwest coast of Spitsbergen, an area known as “Corpse Point” — or “Corpse Point” — melting permafrost and coastal erosion are bringing to light graves associated with the ancient whaling industry.
The region became one of the centers of whaling after Dutch explorer Willem Barentsz sighted Spitsbergen in 1596, recalls . In the following decades, Svalbard began to attract ships from several European countries, mainly interested in whale blubber, used as oil for lighting and industrial lubrication. Activity grew from 1612, and by the end of the 17th century, hundreds of vessels dedicated to whaling and sealing could operate in the icy seas east of Greenland.
Suffering, scurvy, rickets, osteoarthritis
Now, climate change is turning ancient cemeteries into at-risk archaeological archives. The study conducted by Lise Loktudo Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research, e Elin Therese Brødholtfrom Oslo University Hospital, analyzed bone remains from 19 individuals found in Likneset, exposed between the 1980s and 2010s.
All were biologically male and most died very young, around 20 to 25 years old..
The bones reveal a severe picture of physical suffering. The team found signs of scurvy in 18 of the 19 individuals analyzed, a disease caused by prolonged vitamin C deficiency and associated with extreme fatigue, bleeding gums and reopening of old wounds.
Evidence was also identified of rickets in at least one case and signs of severe malnutrition during childhood.
The work on board and ashore left clear marks. Eighteen of the 19 skeletons showed signs of degenerative joint disease or osteoarthritisproblems that are now more common in much older people. The changes mainly affected the upper part of the body — shoulders, collarbones, sternum and elbows —, suggesting intense and repetitive physical effort. Healed fractures and spinal injuries were also observed.
Researchers argue that many deaths are the result not of isolated traumatic episodes, but of a accumulation of physiological stress, illness, poor diet and heavy work. For the authors, these bones show “the human cost” of one of the first large European extractive industries in the Arctic.
The study also warns of a imminent loss of assets. As permafrost warms and the coast recedes, archaeological sites rich in organic matter rapidly degrade. Researchers argue for systematic monitoring, targeted documentation, and integration of this data into climate adaptation plans before irreplaceable human archives disappear.
