Post by account_disabled on Mar 11, 2024 4:50:35 GMT -5
The aroma is ephemeral. Therefore, trying to recreate the smells of the past is a daunting challenge. However, scientists have identified compounds in balms used to mummify the organs of an ancient Egyptian noblewoman , according to a recent article published in the journal Scientific Reports. The find suggests that the recipes were unusually complex and used ingredients not native to the region. The authors also teamed up with a perfumer to recreate what co-author Barbara Huber calls, “The Scent of Eternity.”
Ars Technica
This article was originally published on Ars Technica , a trusted source for techno Phone Number List logy news, technology policy analysis, reviews, and more. Ars is owned by WIRED's parent company, Condé Nast.
The scent of eternity
"It represents more than just the aroma of the mummification process," said Huber, an archaeologist at the Max Planck Institute for Geoanthropology in Jena, Germany. “ It embodies the rich cultural, historical and spiritual significance of Ancient Egyptian mortuary practices .” “Our methods were also able to provide crucial information about the ingredients of balms, about which there is limited information in ancient Egyptian textual sources.”
Egyptian embalming is believed to have begun in the predynastic period or even earlier , when people noticed that the arid heat of the sand tended to dry out and preserve bodies buried in the desert. Over time, the idea of preserving the body after death made its way into Egyptian religious beliefs. When people began burying the dead in rock tombs, away from desiccating sand, they used chemicals such as natron salt and plant-based resins to embalm them.
The amazing Egyptian mummification process
The procedure usually began by placing the corpse on a table and removing the internal organs, except the heart . According to Herodotus, "they first extract part of the brain through the nostrils with an iron hook and inject certain drugs into the rest" to liquefy the remaining brain matter.
They then washed the chest cavity with spices and palm wine, sewed the body, and left aromatic plants and spices inside, including bags of natron. It was then allowed to dehydrate for 40 days. The dried organs were sealed in canopic jars or sometimes placed back in the body cavity. Then, this was wrapped in several layers of linen cloth, and within those layers amulets were placed to protect the deceased from evil. The completely wrapped mummy was covered with resin to prevent moisture from entering and placed in a coffin , also sealed with resin.
Most of what we know about ancient Egyptian mummification techniques comes from a few ancient texts. In addition to a text called The Ritual of Embalming , the Greek historian Herodotus, in his Histories of Him, mentions the use of the mineral natron to dehydrate the body. But there are very few details about the specific spices, oils, resins and other ingredients used. Science can help fill the gaps, particularly given the growing variety of methods for performing biomolecular analysis, including various forms of gas chromatography.
Ars Technica
This article was originally published on Ars Technica , a trusted source for techno Phone Number List logy news, technology policy analysis, reviews, and more. Ars is owned by WIRED's parent company, Condé Nast.
The scent of eternity
"It represents more than just the aroma of the mummification process," said Huber, an archaeologist at the Max Planck Institute for Geoanthropology in Jena, Germany. “ It embodies the rich cultural, historical and spiritual significance of Ancient Egyptian mortuary practices .” “Our methods were also able to provide crucial information about the ingredients of balms, about which there is limited information in ancient Egyptian textual sources.”
Egyptian embalming is believed to have begun in the predynastic period or even earlier , when people noticed that the arid heat of the sand tended to dry out and preserve bodies buried in the desert. Over time, the idea of preserving the body after death made its way into Egyptian religious beliefs. When people began burying the dead in rock tombs, away from desiccating sand, they used chemicals such as natron salt and plant-based resins to embalm them.
The amazing Egyptian mummification process
The procedure usually began by placing the corpse on a table and removing the internal organs, except the heart . According to Herodotus, "they first extract part of the brain through the nostrils with an iron hook and inject certain drugs into the rest" to liquefy the remaining brain matter.
They then washed the chest cavity with spices and palm wine, sewed the body, and left aromatic plants and spices inside, including bags of natron. It was then allowed to dehydrate for 40 days. The dried organs were sealed in canopic jars or sometimes placed back in the body cavity. Then, this was wrapped in several layers of linen cloth, and within those layers amulets were placed to protect the deceased from evil. The completely wrapped mummy was covered with resin to prevent moisture from entering and placed in a coffin , also sealed with resin.
Most of what we know about ancient Egyptian mummification techniques comes from a few ancient texts. In addition to a text called The Ritual of Embalming , the Greek historian Herodotus, in his Histories of Him, mentions the use of the mineral natron to dehydrate the body. But there are very few details about the specific spices, oils, resins and other ingredients used. Science can help fill the gaps, particularly given the growing variety of methods for performing biomolecular analysis, including various forms of gas chromatography.