Raman spectroscopy of natron: shedding light on ancient Egyptian mummification

The mummification ritual in ancient Egypt involved the evisceration of the corpse and its desiccation using natron, a naturally occurring evaporitic mineral deposit from the Wadi Natrun, Egypt. The deposit typically contains sodium carbonate, sodium bicarbonate and impurities of chloride and sulfate...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Analytical and bioanalytical chemistry 2007-06, Vol.388 (3), p.683-689
Main Authors: Edwards, Howell G. M, Currie, Katherine J, Ali, Hassan R. H, Jorge Villar, Susana E, David, A. Rosalie, Denton, John
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bicarbonates - analysis
Biological colonisation
Carbonates - analysis
Carotenoids
Chlorophyll
Cyanobacteria - isolation & purification
Cyanobacterial extremophile
Desiccation
Egypt
Egyptian civilization
Embalming - methods
Geologic Sediments - analysis
Geologic Sediments - chemistry
Geologic Sediments - microbiology
Impurities
Infrared lasers
Microorganisms
Mineral composition
Mineral deposits
Mummies
Mummification
Natron
Putrefaction
Raman spectroscopy
Sodium
Sodium bicarbonate
Sodium Bicarbonate - analysis
Sodium carbonate
Spectroscopy
Spectrum analysis
Spectrum Analysis, Raman
Sulfates - analysis
Tissues
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Summary:The mummification ritual in ancient Egypt involved the evisceration of the corpse and its desiccation using natron, a naturally occurring evaporitic mineral deposit from the Wadi Natrun, Egypt. The deposit typically contains sodium carbonate, sodium bicarbonate and impurities of chloride and sulfate as its major elemental components. It is believed that the function of the natron was to rapidly remove the water from the cadaver to prevent microbial attack associated with subsequent biological tissue degradation and putrefaction. Several specimens of natron that were recently collected from the Wadi Natrun contained coloured zones interspersed with the mineral matrix that are superficially reminiscent of extremophilic cyanobacterial colonisation found elsewhere in hot and cold deserts. Raman spectroscopy of these specimens using visible and near-infrared laser excitation has revealed not only the mineral composition of the natron, but also evidence for the presence of cyanobacterial colonies in several coloured zones observed in the mineral matrix. Key Raman biosignatures of carotenoids, scytonemin and chlorophyll have been identified. [graphic removed]
ISSN:1618-2642
1618-2650
1618-2650
DOI:10.1007/s00216-007-1249-4