Tracing the Environmental process of Natural Mummification
In 2002, a group of scientists from Austria, Russia, and Peru published their research on how different environmental circumstances affect the preservation of mummies. Under humid and microaerobic conditions, post-mortem body fat turns into a wax-like lipid that is mainly made up of free saturated fatty acids with even numbers of carbon atoms and hydroxy-fatty acids. The small molecules of fatty acids have fixed degradation products, thus making them the biological components for testing and study to better understand how environmental conditions impact natural mummification processes.
The 5,000 year old Tyrolean Man, more commonly known as Otzi, was the main concern of their study but other mummies were subject to research and analysis. Two of those mummies included in the study were the Pazyryk Ice Maiden and the warrior Chief. During laboratory analysis, small tissue samples were taken from each mummy to saponify lipid materials for two types of testing; gas chromatography and mass spectrometry. Samples from the Chief consisted of 10-hydroxystearic acid which is a result of his burial being flooded with water and eventually frozen solid. Due to the freezing temperatures and lack of oxygen the Chief's skin was preserved extremely well, allowing for the incredibly good condition of his tattoos to last more than 2,000 years.
The 5,000 year old Tyrolean Man, more commonly known as Otzi, was the main concern of their study but other mummies were subject to research and analysis. Two of those mummies included in the study were the Pazyryk Ice Maiden and the warrior Chief. During laboratory analysis, small tissue samples were taken from each mummy to saponify lipid materials for two types of testing; gas chromatography and mass spectrometry. Samples from the Chief consisted of 10-hydroxystearic acid which is a result of his burial being flooded with water and eventually frozen solid. Due to the freezing temperatures and lack of oxygen the Chief's skin was preserved extremely well, allowing for the incredibly good condition of his tattoos to last more than 2,000 years.
References:
- Makristathis, Anthanasior. Ingrid Simonitsch. Jose C. Chavez.
- Rush, John A..
- Gilbert, Steven.