title: Fatty acid composition and preservation of the Tyrolean Iceman and other mummies.
abstract: In anthropology, objective parameters to adequately describe storage conditions and the preservation of mummies have yet to be identified. Considering that fatty acids degrade to stable products, we analysed their profile in human mummies and in control samples by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Originating from different epochs and civilizations, samples of the Tyrolean Iceman, other glacier corpses, a freeze dried mummy, corpses from a permafrost region, a corpse mummified immersed in water, and a desert mummy were evaluated. Chemometric analysis based on the concentrations of 16 fatty acids revealed the degree of similarity between anthropologic and fresh corpse samples, which was mainly influenced by the content of palmitic acid, oleic acid, and 10-hydroxystearic acid. The presence of 10-hydroxystearic acid was associated with immersion in water, whereas dry mummification was accompanied by high contents of oleic acid. Samples of the Tyrolean Iceman clustered between fresh tissue and those of other glacier corpses indicating the good preservation of this mummy. Thus, environmental post-mortem conditions were associated with characteristic fatty acid patterns suggesting that chemometric analysis of fatty acid contents may add to our knowledge about post-mortem storage conditions and the preservation of human corpses.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Microbiology, Hygiene Institute, University of Vienna, Austria. Department of Internal Medicine I, University of Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Athanasios
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Makristathis
authors.forename: Josef
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Schwarzmeier
authors.forename: Robert M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Mader
authors.forename: Kurt
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Varmuza
authors.forename: Ingrid
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Simonitsch
authors.forename: Jose Chavez
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Chavez
authors.forename: Werner
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Platzer
authors.forename: Hans
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Unterdorfer
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Scheithauer
authors.forename: Anatoly
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Derevianko
authors.forename: Horst
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Seidler
mesh_terms: D005227:Fatty Acids; D005229:Fatty Acids, Monounsaturated; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D006801:Humans; D019787:Linoleic Acid; D009106:Mummies; D019301:Oleic Acid; D014885:Waxes
chemical_list: D005227:Fatty Acids; D005229:Fatty Acids, Monounsaturated; D014885:Waxes; C008757:palmitoleic acid; D019301:Oleic Acid; D019787:Linoleic Acid