Archaeological and Contemporary Human Hair Composition and Morphology

Abstract

Contemporary and mummy hair samples are characterized and compared, using modern chemical and physical characterization methods. It is found that in cave conditions mummy hair can be preserved even if it interacts with environmental dirt or soil, X-ray diffraction and infrared spectroscopy results. Hair is an ion exchanger and the exposure to earth and water can facilitate the interaction of some elements with hair as shown by X-ray fluorescence, energy dispersive spectroscopy and neutron activation analysis. Post mortem degradation is detected through the reaction of cystine and through the partial collapse of the scale arrangement. The mummy hair scales become less ordered and the hair surface less smooth, such features were clearly observed by scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. The presented interdisciplinary results show that alteration of hair initiates in the core but scales are often well preserved. The features found in mummy hair suggest that the correlation between chemical composition and health or nutrition of ancient people should be carefully evaluated due to environmental contamination.Key words: Hair, mummy, human, scalp, cuticle, cortex, keratin. Muestras de pelo de momia y también contemporáneo se compararon y caracterizaron por métodos espectroscópicos y fisicoquí-micos. Se encontró que el pelo de la momia en una cueva se puede conservar, incluso si interactúa con el medio ambiente o la suciedad del suelo. El cabello es un intercambiador de iones y la exposición a la tierra y el agua puede facilitar la interacción de algunos elementos con el pelo como se mostró por fluorescencia de rayos X, espectroscopía de energía dispersiva y análisis

Scanning Electron Microscopic Characterization and Elemental Analysis of One Hair Located on the Face of the Turin Shroud

“…There is evidence in the literature of sulphur percentages of up to 8.5 ± 5.7% in red hairs (Bouillon & Wilkinson, 2005); so, with a sulphur percentage of about 3%, this hair fragment sulphur peak is clearly below that seen in current human hairs; as an explanation for such a particularity, we note that it was observed that spectrums of ancient hair remains showed a lower sulphur peak than that of their current counterparts (Mansilla et al, 2011). Probably sulphur content in the hair decreases with time, depending on the conservation conditions.…”

Investigation of Organic Materials From the ‘Royal’ Burials of Xiongnu (Noin‐Ula, Mongolia) by Srxrf and XAFS Methods

“…A similar situation was observed by Mansilla et al . (), who was investigating mummy hair: the inner part of the hair has disappeared, because the inner part of the hair (medulla) is enriched with lipids. The least structurally robust components collapse first, as they afford lower resistance to microbial/chemical attack, as previously shown (Wilson et al .…”

“…Additionally, Mansilla et al . () has reported that the high amounts of Si, Na and Ca are attributed to large adhered particles of soil.…”

Niveles De Cortisol en Cabellos De Poblaciones Prehispánicas De San Pedro De Atacama, Norte De Chile

“…La base estructural del cortisol es un esqueleto hidrocarbonado tetracíclico y parcialmente hidroxilado, estructura en general estable a la descomposición química, aunque no se puede descartar la posibilidad de que a largo plazo y expuesto a los agentes adecuados pueda experimentar reacciones de oxidación. La evaluación de la degradación y la pérdida de componentes en cabello arqueológico por medio de observaciones histológicas y microscópicas, así como de análisis de la composición elemental del cabello, ha mostrado que el cabello puede interactuar con elementos de la matriz en la que está depositado (Mansilla et al 2011;Wilson et al 2010). En el caso del cortisol, al tratarse de una molécula relativamente estable, la pérdida desde el cabello podría suceder debido a la presencia de agentes biológicos como hongos y bacterias, que provoquen daños mecánicos en la matriz del cabello con la consiguiente liberación del cortisol al medio ambiente.…”