John Franklin’s Lost Expedition is a classic story of a journey gone wrong. When British naval officers set out from England in 1845 in two ships, their goal was to forge a path into the Arctic Ocean and open the Northwest Passage. Unfortunately, none of the 129 people who set sail on HMS were there. Erebos and H.M.S. terrorism I’m back now.
Reports from rescue operations, Inuit people in the area, and subsequent forensic and archaeological work on human and non-human remains reveal ships trapped in winter ice, rotten food, and a hopeless overland journey. Pieces of the story, including his journey and possible death, have been pieced together. cannibalism.
Now, in recent genetic research, study Published in Journal of Archaeological Sciences: Report; Some bones found on Nunavut’s King William Island have been identified as belonging to expedition commander James Fitzjames, who was apparently cannibalized.
“You can never put yourself in a situation where you can imagine what they were going through,” he says. Douglas Stentonan archaeologist at the University of Waterloo, Canada.
What was the Franklin Expedition?
In 1845, no one had ever crossed the Northwest Passage (basically traveling between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans via the Arctic Ocean) by boat. Franklin’s expedition was supposed to change that. They are well equipped with two reinforced boats; probably enough food To last for 3 years.
Franklin and his crew had extensive experience. Franklin had already conducted three expeditions in the North Pole. On one of these trips, he may even have been involved in one of the following: first iteration of ice hockey On the ice of Great Bear Lake, Northwest Territories. Francis Crozier, Deputy Commander and Captain of HMS terrorismand also participated in various expeditions in the North and South Pole.
However, due to various reasons, all their experience was in vain. Both ships became trapped in the ice near King William Island, and their crews spent two winters around the area until the survivors, with the exception of Franklin himself, made their way to mainland Canada.
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Discovery of James Fitzjames’ body
Inuit first discovered the remains of at least 13 of these crew members with evidence of cannibalism on King William Island, and then again in 1993 by archaeologist Anne Keenleyside.
There were 451 bones at the site, including a mandible with molars that was relatively intact and suitable for preserving DNA. Researchers analyzed as much DNA as possible from those bones, but needed to compare them to living relatives to determine who the bones belonged to.
In 2021, Stenton and Keenleyside identified one of the skulls. belonging to john gregoryHMS Engineer Erebos By matching DNA extracted from corpses with that of living relatives.
Later, people believed to be relatives of the missing members of the Franklin Expedition contacted Stenton and his colleagues. However, many of them were not close enough relatives. The team needed DNA from individuals who were each direct descendants of either the crew’s male or female ancestors.
However, Fabienne Tetterau’s family tree research revealed that a relative named Nigel Gambier shared a direct paternal ancestor with Fitzjames. Ms Gambhir shared her DNA samples with researchers, and recent studies have identified Fitzjames’ DNA on parts of the body.
Fitzjames was third in command of the expedition and commander of HMS. Erebos. Stenton said he inherited a proud tradition of naval service, joining the Navy at age 12 or 13, as was common at the time.
Fitzjames outlived Franklin by about a year, but the date of his death is not clear.
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Cannibalization as a last resort
Inuit oral history dating back to the 19th century reports that some of the crew of the Franklin Expedition resorted to cannibalism to survive.
Archaeological work by Keenleyside and other researchers seems to confirm this, as some of the bones had cut marks consistent with flesh harvesting. Fitzjames had the same cut on his bones.
Many may find this abhorrent, but Stenton tries to put himself in the shoes of the crew trying to survive.
“You have primal instincts, and there are situations that overwhelm your inhibitions, and you never know who will do what in this case,” Stenton says.
In the end, it seemed to be of no use, since it was known that none of the crew survived. “[Cannibalism] It only prolonged their suffering,” Stenton said.
Stenton says more relatives of missing crew members have contacted his team since these results were recently announced. One of them, he says, is promising.
“We really hope we can identify a few more,” he says.
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Joshua Rapp Learn is an award-winning DC-based science writer. The Alberta resident has written for numerous scientific publications, including National Geographic, The New York Times, The Guardian, New Scientist, and Hakai.
