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Exceptionally Preserved 2,600-Year-Old Brain Found

Posted by Soulskill on from the fire-that-bad-boy-up dept.

TrueSatan writes with this quote from Discovery News: "A human skull dated to about 2,684 years ago with an 'exceptionally preserved' human brain still inside of it was recently discovered in a waterlogged U.K. pit, according to a new Journal of Archaeological Science study. The brain is the oldest known intact human brain from Europe and Asia, according to the authors, who also believe it's one of the best-preserved ancient brains in the world (PDF). 'The early Iron Age skull belonged to a man, probably in his thirties,' according to lead author Sonia O'Connor. 'Cause of death is rarely possible to determine in archaeological remains, but in this case, damage to the neck vertebrae is consistent with a hanging.'"

19 of 167 comments (clear)

  1. Intact human brain? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    "The brain is the oldest known intact human brain from Europe and Asia" – So I take it the brain still works?

    1. Re:Intact human brain? by paiute · · Score: 5, Funny

      Maybe after they transplant the brain in a brainless body, we'll find out why he was hanged in his time.

      Starring Christopher Lee and Vincent Price.

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    2. Re:Intact human brain? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      Quick, someone send it to the Houses of Parliament! An intact brain there will revolutionise our system of government!

    3. Re:Intact human brain? by readin · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Something that occasionally bothers me is the question of how much a brain works after it is dead. We don't really understand consciousness so we don't know how much of the brain is responsible for it. In fact the only way we know (suspect?) our fellow humans are conscious is they tell us - ok I'm wondering in to Turing test territory which isn't where I want to go.

      Suppose we were to hit this old intact brain with a jolt of electricity - would it feel it? Would it be conscious at some level for a brief moment but completely unable to inform us? Would it suffer a brief horrible dream? It makes me feel like I want to have my brain completely obliterated somehow when I die so I can be sure there is nothing left that is capable of suffering.

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    4. Re:Intact human brain? by ackthpt · · Score: 5, Funny

      "The brain is the oldest known intact human brain from Europe and Asia" – So I take it the brain still works?

      The card reads Abby Normal. Should be OK, what could go wrong?

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    5. Re:Intact human brain? by Crudely_Indecent · · Score: 4, Funny

      We know that he didn't weigh the same as a duck - those people were burned.

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    6. Re:Intact human brain? by schlachter · · Score: 5, Interesting

      The brain being intact at a gross level doesn't mean that it's intact at a cellular level...so I doubt the network topology of the brain is still in place. Besides, the brain has state which decays without active maintenance, so network topology alone is not sufficient.

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    7. Re:Intact human brain? by Minwee · · Score: 4, Funny

      Not only does it work, it is setting educational policy in Kentucky.

    8. Re:Intact human brain? by cpu6502 · · Score: 4, Informative

      >>>Suppose we were to hit this old intact brain with a jolt of electricity - would it feel it? Would it be conscious at some level for a brief moment but completely unable to inform us?

      The neurons disconnect from one another when they die. When you hold a dead brain, you are holding a blank slate. Which is why freezing people after they die is pointless. Even if you could revive the body, the brain has nothing in it. (No memory; the person would be a vegetable.)

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    9. Re:Intact human brain? by cpu6502 · · Score: 4, Funny

      >>>>>Maybe after they transplant the brain in a brainless body, we'll find out why he was hanged in his time.
      >>
      >>Convicted of a crime he didn't commit, of course...

      Good luck trying to understand his ancient Celtic language when he speaks. I can just imagine a bunch of language professors mumbling, "I don't know what he's saying. He's not pronouncing the words properly. It sounds like Hillbilly Celtic."

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  2. 2,684 years ago??? by al3 · · Score: 5, Funny

    But it's only 2012!

    1. Re:2,684 years ago??? by ccguy · · Score: 5, Funny

      But it's only 2012!

      I'll use an analogy to explain how this is possible. Imagine a game that is set in medieval times in which you are exploring castles 500 years old. The game is new, but the castles in it were old right from the start.

      God played the same trick with us. The universe is 6000 years old, but when it was created (when he inserted the CD, if it makes you feel more comfy) it already had extinct species, people that had been dead for a few centuries and so on.
      Clear now?

    2. Re:2,684 years ago??? by PCM2 · · Score: 4, Informative

      It might only be 2012, but here's an article about this same brain from 2011, and it was actually discovered in 2008. "Old news," indeed.

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  3. Re:Roughly 2684 years old? by ciderbrew · · Score: 5, Funny

    Around the time he was hanged.

  4. Zombie Apocalypse... by 25or6to4 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Apparently the zombie apocalypse will last longer than expected if their food source stays preserved for 2000 years!

  5. Sounds like... by Anonymous+Codger · · Score: 4, Funny

    ...it's in better shape than mine.

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  6. "a waterlogged U.K. pit" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Oh come on. Why not just say London.

  7. Re:that explains everything by cusco · · Score: 4, Informative

    Actually there are quite a number (hundreds) of preserved corpses of people that were hanged from this period which have been recovered from bogs in northern Europe. The tannins in bog water preserve the skin quite well, in several cases police were called first because the discoverers thought it was a recent murder. Some of them still have the rope around their neck. This site was probably anoxic as well if the soft tissues were also preserved. A quick search on "bog bodies" will bring up a plethora of information.

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  8. Re:Abby Someone's Brain by geekoid · · Score: 4, Interesting

    He might be unfit for THAT society. Most modern civilized people would be considered unfit in a lot of societies 3000 years ago.

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