An ideal solution? Optimising pretreatment methods for artificially mummified ancient Egyptian tissues

Area of Science:

• Paleodietary research
• Stable isotope analysis
• Bioarchaeology

Background:

• Skeletal remains are traditionally used for ancient diet stable isotope analysis.
• Mummified soft tissues offer insights into short-term ancient diets.
• Mummification substances can interfere with stable isotope measurements.

Observation:

• An experimental mummification model was created using a pig leg.
• Skin, muscle, and bone samples were treated with mummification substances.
• Four cleaning methods were tested before stable isotope analysis.

Findings:

• Embalming materials significantly alter stable isotope ratios.
• A mixture of polar and non-polar solvents effectively removes interfering substances.
• Skin and HCl-demineralized bone samples provided more accurate results than muscle or EDTA-demineralized bone.

Implications:

• Tissue choice and preparation methods critically impact stable isotope data accuracy from mummies.
• Solvent mixtures are superior to single solvents for cleaning mummified tissues.
• HCl demineralization is recommended for well-preserved bone, with further study needed for fragile samples.