title: Ultramicroscopic study on the hair of newly found 15th century mummy in Daejeon, Korea.
abstract: Recent reports on the medieval mummies in Korea have been an invaluable source for the studies on the physical characteristics of medieval Koreans. Though the histological observations on the medieval mummy found in Korea were actively reported by researchers, it could not be said that all the queries on the mummies had been completely answered at the present time. In this study, we tried to add the novel data on the ultramicroscopic characteristics of the hair taken from the recently discovered 15th century mummy, the oldest one ever found in Korea. Even comparing with the hair from living individual, the hair of 15th century mummy showed very intact appearances during observation with electron microscope because the scales on the surface of the mummified hair were not damaged, which were not easily maintained even in living individuals. As to the cause of the excellent preservation of 15th century mummified hair, the presence of surface coat on the hair should be considered. That is, just like the complete sealing effect of lime-soil mixture barrier around the coffin, the presence of the surface coat including calcium and sodium might inhibit the water or fungal infiltrations into the hair shaft.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cosmetology, Hanseo University, Seosan, Korea. bschang@hanseo.ac.kr
authors.forename: Byung Soo
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: Chang Sub
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Uhm
authors.forename: Chang Hyun
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Han Kyeom
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Gui Young
authors.initials: GY
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Han Hee
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.forename: Yoon Hee
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.forename: Dong Hoon
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Shin
mesh_terms: D006197:Hair / Q000648:ultrastructure; D049668:History, 15th Century; D006801:Humans; D007723:Korea; D008297:Male; D008543:Melanins / Q000032:analysis; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D009106:Mummies / Q000266:history / Q000473:pathology*
chemical_list: D008543:Melanins