This would've been mostly in the African continent, right? I'd imagine it would be hard to get consistent fermentation going in more tropical climates.
It would take some strong convictions to turn multiple meals now (seal + bird) into a future meal that could potentially be stolen by scavengers.
Up to 500 whole auks are packed into the seal skin, beaks and feathers included. As much air as possible is removed from the seal skin before it is sewn up and sealed with seal fat, which repels flies. It is then hidden in a heap of stones, with a large rock placed on top to keep the air out. Over the course of three months, the birds ferment, and are then eaten during the Arctic winter, particularly on birthdays and weddings.
I am still bewildered as to how the method was discovered. Taking valuable seals and birds to run multi-month experiments does not seem like it would make you a popular fellow. Best case scenario, you discovered a way of making what sounds a vile, but technically edible, flesh paste.
The extended quote from the Wikipedia page notes some people have died from preparing it improperly
Polar explorer Knud Rasmussen's death is attributed to food poisoning by kiviaq.[5][6] In August 2013 several people died in Siorapaluk from eating kiviak that was made from eider rather than auk. Eider does not ferment as well as auk, and those who ate it contracted botulism.[7]Hunting cultures often have periods of surplus. Most likely this wasn't so much deliberate fermentation as an attempt to store their surplus; the fact that it turned well was a happy accident.
Regular shark meat is poisonous. But if you bury it in the sand and leave it for 6 weeks, the toxin decomposes and humans no longer die from it. But it stinks.
How hungry must have those Icelanders been that they tried this?
What kind of shark is that? I grew up eating salted shark meat and it was the only kind of fish I'd eat as a kid.
I also make milk kefir, water kefir, sourdough and kombucha and while none of these cultures require the higher temperatures, they do thrive in the higher temperatures.
I also grow quite a few species of mushrooms and have learned that a lot of species incubate quite aggressively at higher temperatures (25-35°C).