Posted on 03/25/2011 6:35:36 PM PDT by decimon
A 2,500-year-old human skull uncovered in England was less of a surprise than what was in it: the brain. The discovery of the yellowish, crinkly, shrunken brain prompted questions about how such a fragile organ could have survived so long and how frequently this strange type of preservation occurs.
Except for the brain, all of the skull's soft tissue was gone when the skull was pulled from a muddy Iron Age pit where the University of York was planning to expand its Heslington East campus. [Britain's Oldest Brain Found]
"It was just amazing to think that a brain of someone who had died so many thousands of years ago could persist just in wet ground," said Sonia O'Connor, a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Bradford. O’Connor led a team of researchers who assessed the state of the brain after it was found in 2008 and looked into likely modes of preservation. [Image of preserved brain]
"It's particularly surprising, because if you talk to pathologists who deal with fresh dead bodies they say the first organ to really deteriorate and to basically go to liquid is the brain because of its high fat content," O'Connor said.
When it was found, the skull — which belonged to a man probably between 26 and 45 years old — was accompanied by a jaw and two neck vertebrae, bearing evidence of hanging and then decapitation. Cut marks on the inside of the neck indicate that the head was severed while there was still flesh on the bones, O'Connor said. There is, however, no indication of why he was hanged, and the rest of his remains have yet to be found.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Nation of chopkeepers ping.
AB Normal...
|
· join list or digest · view topics · view or post blog · bookmark · post a topic · subscribe · |
|||
Antiquity Journal & archive Archaeologica Archaeology Archaeology Channel BAR Bronze Age Forum Discover Dogpile Eurekalert LiveScience Mirabilis.ca Nat Geographic PhysOrg Science Daily Science News Texas AM Yahoo Excerpt, or Link only? |
|
||
|
· Science topic · science keyword · Books/Literature topic · pages keyword · |
|||
This is predates the Roman and germanic eras in Britain.
(germanic= angles saxons jutes frisians)
The locals at the time were Picts, Celts and possibly others such as Nordics.
A skull full of dried mush, untouched by Liberalism?
Can he run for office?
Must have been good and pickled!
He only qualifies as a Democrat.
When I read the headline and before I clicked on the article I thought “How many replies will it take...”
The answer is three!
Freepers never let me down!
Inscription on bottom of Jar. Property of Helen Thomas.
And they all have Brooklyn accents.
...so that’s where Al Gore left it.
LISTER and his friends, PETERSEN, SELBY, and CHEN are playing a rhythmic word game.
PETERSEN: I’ve been to Titan, I’ve been to Juno, I can name eight things that go in jars that you know! Pickles!
SELBY: Jam!
CHEN: Spaghetti!
LISTER: Brains!
CHEN yells and everyone stops.
SELBY: What? In jars?
LISTER: My uncle’s brain’s in a jar. It’s really sad.
CHEN: Why is it sad?
LISTER: He’s not dead yet.
PETERSEN: Right, everybody’s punished. Finish your drinks.
LOL!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
