Female cadaver in the Han Tomb No. 1. X-ray diffraction studies on two kinds of fibrous protein

The molecular structures of both native and false hairs as well as the tendon of the female cadaver buried about 2,100 years ago, which was excavated from the Han Tomb, No. 1 at Mawangdui near Changsha, Human Province, China, have been studied with X-ray fiber diffraction. It has been shown that the conformations of alpha-keratin and collagen and the basic longitudinal period of these fibrous protein molecular chains have been preserved in those specimens respectively, but the aggregations of fibrous molecules have somewhat changed. Some exploration was made on the origin where came the cubic mercury sulphide inside the cadaver's hair.