Chemists Find Ancient Mummifying Chemical
From Times Staff and Wire Reports
A German research team has unraveled the mystery of how the ancient Egyptians mummified their dead, using sophisticated science to track the preservative to an extract of the cedar tree.
Chemists from Tubingen University and the Munich-based Doerner-Institut replicated an ancient treatment of cedar wood and found it contained a preservative chemical called guaiacol.
The team, which reported its findings in the current issue of Nature, then tested the chemicals found in the cedar derivative on fresh pig ribs. They found it had an extremely high antibacterial effect without damaging body tissue.
