Native American dead chiefs. Copy of a 16th-century artwork of the bodies of dead Algonquian chiefs in a charnel house on Roanoke Island on the coast
Native American dead chiefs. Copy of a 16th-century artwork of the bodies of dead Algonquian chiefs in a charnel house on Roanoke Island on the coast of North Carolina, USA. Such chiefs were known as weroances. Nine cadavers are laid out on a raised platform, with an idol ('Kywash') at left. A priest (lower right) is praying for the dead beside a fire. This coloured version of a 1590 engraving by Theodor de Bry was published in 'Travels through Virginia' (1618) by William Strachey. The original was a watercolour by John White who visited the area in 1585. White's artworks are amongst the earliest surviving images of North America.
Size: 3610px × 5327px
Photo credit: © BRITISH LIBRARY/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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