Bog Bodies

School Library Journal

Gr 5-8Bog Bodies begins with the discovery of Lindow Man in an English peat bog in 1984. As this 1900-year-old body's condition and characteristics are examined and described, secrets of Celtic culture are revealed bit by bit. Knowledge gained from Danish, German, and North American bog mummies add to the picture of human existence some 2000 years ago. Full-color photographs of mummies and of Celtic artifacts make the Lindow Man's world, and that of Lindow Woman and Lindow III, come to life. Much of the evidence points to Lindow Man and many bog mummies having been sacrificed to pagan gods although that's not a certain conclusion. On the other hand, the Ice Maiden of the Andes, nicknamed "Juanita," found near the peak of Mount Ampato in 1995, was definitely a human sacrifice. The story of her discovery and details of the problems in recovering her body are as fascinating as any murder mystery. Facts gleaned from written and oral history plus examinations of the remains of earlier sacrificial victims are combined to form an impression of what Juanita's last days and moments may have been like. Lindow Man and Juanita are both more recent finds than those described in Patricia Lauber's Tales Mummies Tell (Crowell, 1985), although additional bog mummies are discussed in that book and in Bog Bodies as well. Buell supplements the interesting stories with full-color photos, time lines, extensive glossaries, source notes, further-reading sources, and indexes to create fascinating and informative packages.Ann G. Brouse, Big Flats Branch Library, NY