Embalming was used in Old Kingdom

Our knowledge of the conservation techniques used in the Old Kingdom of ancient Egypt is limited. Examinations of a clavicle fragment of the mummy of Idu II, secretary general of the pine wood trade office (2150 ± 50 BC ), revealed saturation with a wealth of sodium and wood tar compounds, many of w...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature (London) 1998-01, Vol.391 (6665), p.343-344
Main Authors: Koller, Johann, Baumer, Ursula, Kaup, Yoka, Etspüler, Hedwig, Weser, Ulrich
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acids
Alkaline Phosphatase - analysis
Bone and Bones - enzymology
Bones
Chromatography
Egypt, Ancient
Embalming - history
Embalming - methods
Enzymes
History of medicine
History, Ancient
Humanities and Social Sciences
Humans
Microbial contamination
multidisciplinary
Mummies
Phosphatase
Science
Science (multidisciplinary)
scientific-correspondence
Sodium
Wood
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Summary:Our knowledge of the conservation techniques used in the Old Kingdom of ancient Egypt is limited. Examinations of a clavicle fragment of the mummy of Idu II, secretary general of the pine wood trade office (2150 ± 50 BC ), revealed saturation with a wealth of sodium and wood tar compounds, many of which were highly antiseptic as no microbial contamination was noticed. This pretreatment had ensured the preservation of bone alkaline phosphatase in an enzymically and immunologically active form. This extends the use of embalming to one thousand years earlier than previously thought.
ISSN:0028-0836
1476-4687
DOI:10.1038/34809