1 00:00:03,279 --> 00:00:05,640 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff to Blow Your Mind, a production of 2 00:00:05,640 --> 00:00:10,200 Speaker 1: My Heart Radio. Hi, my name is Robert Lamb and 3 00:00:10,280 --> 00:00:13,600 Speaker 1: this is the Artifact, a short form series from Stuff 4 00:00:13,640 --> 00:00:17,480 Speaker 1: to Blow Your Mind, focusing in on particular objects, ideas, 5 00:00:17,520 --> 00:00:23,760 Speaker 1: and moments in time. At the center of all human endeavors, 6 00:00:23,800 --> 00:00:27,480 Speaker 1: from warfare and art to religion and science, we find 7 00:00:27,640 --> 00:00:31,000 Speaker 1: the human brain. But how often do we actually find 8 00:00:31,120 --> 00:00:34,360 Speaker 1: brain tissue in the buried remnants of human beings in 9 00:00:34,400 --> 00:00:38,120 Speaker 1: their history. The main issue, of course, is that soft 10 00:00:38,120 --> 00:00:43,040 Speaker 1: tissue doesn't stick around. Brains usually decomposed rather quickly following 11 00:00:43,040 --> 00:00:47,440 Speaker 1: the creature's death, with enzymes rapidly breaking up the spongy tissue, 12 00:00:47,600 --> 00:00:52,960 Speaker 1: which is roughly sevent water. Unless this process is interfered with, 13 00:00:53,280 --> 00:00:56,200 Speaker 1: the brain decomposes along with the rest of the body's 14 00:00:56,200 --> 00:00:59,240 Speaker 1: soft tissue and has gone entirely within the first few 15 00:00:59,360 --> 00:01:03,520 Speaker 1: years of death. But of course, environmental circumstances and human 16 00:01:03,520 --> 00:01:07,039 Speaker 1: burial practices sometimes allow a bit of brain to survive 17 00:01:07,160 --> 00:01:11,199 Speaker 1: the conquering worm. For instance, brain cells have been found 18 00:01:11,240 --> 00:01:15,200 Speaker 1: preserved in remnants from the seventy nine CE eruption of 19 00:01:15,280 --> 00:01:19,120 Speaker 1: Mount Vesuvius. It provides scientists with the chance to study 20 00:01:19,280 --> 00:01:24,280 Speaker 1: neuronal tissue from the ancient world. Obsey the Iceman, Europe's 21 00:01:24,280 --> 00:01:28,319 Speaker 1: oldest mummy, died roughly five thousand, three hundred years ago. 22 00:01:28,840 --> 00:01:31,440 Speaker 1: Since the ice preserved his body, scientists have been able 23 00:01:31,440 --> 00:01:34,480 Speaker 1: to perform a protein analysis of his brain tissue to 24 00:01:34,560 --> 00:01:37,839 Speaker 1: determine that he suffered a head injury prior to death, 25 00:01:38,080 --> 00:01:40,160 Speaker 1: perhaps a blow to the back of the head from 26 00:01:40,160 --> 00:01:43,680 Speaker 1: a weapon or an injury suffered from a fall after 27 00:01:43,720 --> 00:01:48,120 Speaker 1: being struck with an arrow. Even Egyptian mummies, whose brains 28 00:01:48,200 --> 00:01:51,320 Speaker 1: were often removed as part of the embalming ritual, sometimes 29 00:01:51,360 --> 00:01:55,480 Speaker 1: give up their gray matter for modern scientific scrutiny. In 30 00:01:55,520 --> 00:01:59,680 Speaker 1: two thousand fourteen, researchers discovered a seventeen hundred year old 31 00:01:59,720 --> 00:02:03,360 Speaker 1: Age Action mummy with a missing heart but an intact brain. 32 00:02:06,000 --> 00:02:09,720 Speaker 1: And then there is the Heslington Brain, discovered in Heslington, 33 00:02:09,880 --> 00:02:12,880 Speaker 1: York in two thousand and nine by archaeologists from the 34 00:02:12,960 --> 00:02:17,320 Speaker 1: York Archaeological Trust. While excavating an Iron Age pit, they 35 00:02:17,320 --> 00:02:21,480 Speaker 1: found an intact skull with jaw and two vertebrae still attached. 36 00:02:21,960 --> 00:02:24,839 Speaker 1: When they opened the skull, they found an astonishingly well 37 00:02:24,880 --> 00:02:28,519 Speaker 1: preserved human brain. This was all the more impressive since 38 00:02:28,560 --> 00:02:33,640 Speaker 1: the brain turned up in an unembalmed, otherwise skeletonized human remains. 39 00:02:34,840 --> 00:02:37,520 Speaker 1: The two thousand, six hundred year old brain may have 40 00:02:37,600 --> 00:02:39,959 Speaker 1: remained so well preserved due to the fact that the 41 00:02:40,040 --> 00:02:44,200 Speaker 1: seemingly disembodied head had been cast into a cold, oxygen 42 00:02:44,200 --> 00:02:48,519 Speaker 1: poor environment. Dr Axel pet Sold of the u C. L. 43 00:02:48,680 --> 00:02:52,600 Speaker 1: Queen Square Institute of Neurology has suggested that decay might 44 00:02:52,639 --> 00:02:55,240 Speaker 1: have been halted within three months of death by an 45 00:02:55,280 --> 00:02:59,320 Speaker 1: acidic fluid that may have leaked into the skull, preserving 46 00:02:59,320 --> 00:03:02,519 Speaker 1: outer reach is more than the interior parts of the brain. 47 00:03:03,160 --> 00:03:07,120 Speaker 1: Rodrigo Perez Ortega of Science Magazine has also suggested that 48 00:03:07,160 --> 00:03:11,120 Speaker 1: a brain disease might have helped matters, producing dense protein 49 00:03:11,240 --> 00:03:14,840 Speaker 1: clumps that would have survived better. The brain, of course, 50 00:03:14,960 --> 00:03:17,520 Speaker 1: is not a true artifact, but it is the author 51 00:03:17,600 --> 00:03:21,480 Speaker 1: of artifacts, and given the right circumstances, it takes its 52 00:03:21,520 --> 00:03:28,520 Speaker 1: place on the shelf beside them. Tune into additional editions 53 00:03:28,520 --> 00:03:31,919 Speaker 1: of the artifact each week, hosted by either Joe or myself. 54 00:03:32,240 --> 00:03:35,680 Speaker 1: As always, you can email us at contact at stuff 55 00:03:35,720 --> 00:03:47,680 Speaker 1: to Blow your Mind dot com. Stuff to Blow Your 56 00:03:47,720 --> 00:03:50,640 Speaker 1: Mind is a production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts, 57 00:03:50,760 --> 00:03:53,800 Speaker 1: my heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, Apple podcasts, 58 00:03:53,880 --> 00:03:55,680 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.