Borate, an Effective Mummification Agent in Pharaonic Egypt

نویسندگان

  • Ulrich Weser
  • Yoka Kaup
چکیده

Mummification salts and mummified bones were assayed for borate. In two samples of mummification salt one from Deir el-Bahari (26th Dynasty, 700Ð600 BC) and salt from the embalming material of Tutankhamen (18th Dynasty, 1370Ð1335 BC) 3.9 and 2.1 μMol borate/ gram were found, respectively. Six mummified bone fragments from the Old Kingdom contained up to 1.2 μMol/gram. It is suggested that borate containing salt was used during mummification. The reactivity of borate on bone alkaline phosphatase, which is known to survive mummification for more than 4000 years, was examined. Borate forms high relative molecular mass adducts of this enzyme being temperature resistant and functionally distinct.

برای دانلود متن کامل این مقاله و بیش از 32 میلیون مقاله دیگر ابتدا ثبت نام کنید

ثبت نام

اگر عضو سایت هستید لطفا وارد حساب کاربری خود شوید

منابع مشابه

Evidence for Prehistoric Origins of Egyptian Mummification in Late Neolithic Burials

Traditional theories on ancient Egyptian mummification postulate that in the prehistoric period (i.e. the Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods, 5th and 4th millennia B.C.) bodies were naturally desiccated through the action of the hot, dry desert sand. Although molding of the body with resin-impregnated linen is believed to be an early Pharaonic forerunner to more complex processes, scientific ev...

متن کامل

Pharaonic Egypt and the origins of plague

The origins and dispersal of epidemic diseases have been the subject of much speculation (e.g. Zinsser, 1935; Brothwell & Sandison, 1967; McNeill, 1977; McKeown, 1988; Nikiforuk, 1991). Whilst the archaeological excavation of multiple apparently contemporary burials in pits may provide at the least circumstantial evidence for the occurrence of mass death by disease, most infections leave no spe...

متن کامل

Mummification in Ancient Egypt

men was rarely used in ancient Egypt, not until much later in its history, but the name stuck and has remained in popular usage. The Egyptians would never have used the word mummy, it has been suggested3 that their word would have been Sahu, which means, an embalmed cadaver. Long after mummification was abandoned, extracts of mummies were used for all sorts of purposes. The Arab physician Avice...

متن کامل

Role of Calcium Content in Dissolution Kinetics of Iranian Borate Minerals in Sulfuric Acid

The dissolution kinetics of pandermite and hydroboracite, present in an Iranian borate ore, in sulfuric acid has been comparatively studied. The effect of particle size, temperature, and acid concentration on their dissolution rate was investigated. Dissolution rates of both minerals increased by reducing the particle size and by raising the temperature. Although, an increase in the acid concen...

متن کامل

Lidocaine Alkalinization with Borate Buffer: Evaluation of Onset and Duration Time of Analgesia in Peripheral Nerve Block in Rat

Objective: Evaluation of onset and duration of peripheral nerve blockage with alkalinized lidocaine by borate buffer instead of sodium bicarbonate. Study design: Experimental randomized cross-over study. Animals: Forty male Sprague-Dawley rats (body weight 200–300 g) were used in this study. Methods: Four 1.0% lidocaine solutions were prepared from commercially available solutions. The treat...

متن کامل

ذخیره در منابع من


  با ذخیره ی این منبع در منابع من، دسترسی به آن را برای استفاده های بعدی آسان تر کنید

برای دانلود متن کامل این مقاله و بیش از 32 میلیون مقاله دیگر ابتدا ثبت نام کنید

ثبت نام

اگر عضو سایت هستید لطفا وارد حساب کاربری خود شوید

عنوان ژورنال:

دوره   شماره 

صفحات  -

تاریخ انتشار 2002