Archaeologists have found preserved human brains dating back thousands of years ago, but little was known about the preservation of the organ. Until now. The discovery of over 4,400 human brains spanning 12,000 years may have helped find a new preservation mechanism, presenting an untapped resource for bioarchaeological studies of human evolution and health.
The brain is thought to be among the first human organs to decompose after death, the University of Oxford Forensic Anthropologist Alexandra Morton-Hayward wrote with her co-authors.
This is why the discovery of brains preserved in the archaeological record is regarded as unusual, the researchers stated in a new paper published on Wednesday (March 20) in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
