Deprive the brain of oxygen, and it dies within minutes. The brain is one of the first organs to decay after someone dies. However, an archaeological find has left many archaeologists and scientists scratching their heads.
In 2008, a group of archaeologists excavating a site in Heslington, a village in England, found a human skull lying face down. It was evident that it had been decapitated, as the rest of the skeleton was missing.
To the amazement of the archaeologists, when they opened the skull, the brain was still perfectly preserved. Radiocarbon dating placed the age of the brain at around 2600 years.
The Heslington Brain is the most well-preserved human brain ever recovered in an archaeological dig. There has been no explanation as to why the brain was found in such good shape, to the extent that some of the brain proteins were still active enough to elicit immune reactions.
The brain belonged to a man probably in his 30s. He had been hanged before being decapitated with a knife and his skull appears to have been buried immediately. The rest of the body was missing. Although it is not known why he was killed, it may have been a human sacrifice or ritual murder.
Similarly,
Tollund Man, a Dane who died 2500 years ago. His body was discovered in 1950 and was so well preserved he was briefly mistaken by authorities as a recent murder victim.
In May 1950, peat cutters Viggo and Emil Hojgaard discovered a corpse in the peat layer of the Bjœeldskovdal peat bog just west of the Danish town of Silkeborg Denmark.
The Tollund Man lay 60 m (200 ft) away from firm ground, buried under 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) of peat, his body arranged in the fetal position.
He wore a pointed skin cap of sheepskin and wool, fastened under his chin by a hide thong, and a smooth hide belt around his waist. Additionally, a noose made of plaited animal hide was drawn tight around his neck and trailed down his back.
He was 40 years old, and died around 400 BC according to radiocarbon dating, and it was later determined his last meal consisted of a porridge with barley, flax, wild weed seeds, and some fish.
The cause of death has been determined by hanging. Scholars believe the man was a human sacrifice, rather than an executed criminal, because of the arranged position of his body, and his eyes and mouth being closed.
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