New Delhi, India

In a new find, a study has revealed that thousands of years old brains can turn into valuable scientific resources and provide clues to our past. 

Advertisment

The new study looked into the catalogued human brains, which were found on the archaeological record across the world, and discovered that the organ was actually resisting decomposition, even though the soft tissues in the rest of the body melted away.

A team of scientists, headed by the University of Oxford's molecular taphonomist Alexandra Morton-Hayward, identified more than 4,400 preserved human brains which are approximately 12,000 years old.  

The results of the study have contradicted the earlier belief that the human brain is among the body's first organs which decay after death. 

Advertisment

Also Read: Archaeologists discover long-lost 5,000-year-old copper age cemetery in Italy

Discovery of the preserved human brain to reveal evolutionary history? 

According to the experts, the discovery of the preserved human brain has opened an archive sifting through which they can get a better understanding of the evolutionary history and can also identify the diseases which can afflict us.

Advertisment

"In the forensic field, it's well-known that the brain is one of the first organs to decompose after death – yet this huge archive clearly demonstrates that there are certain circumstances in which it survives," said Morton-Hayward.

"Whether those circumstances are environmental, or related to the brain's unique biochemistry, is the focus of our ongoing and future work. We're finding amazing numbers and types of ancient biomolecules preserved in these archaeological brains, and it's exciting to explore all that they can tell us about life and death in our ancestors," he added. 

The soft tissue's archaeological preservation after a body dies (and is not artificially preserved through freezing or embalming) is a rare occurrence.

Studies of experimental decay have shown that the brain is among the first organs which succumb to decomposition.

Watch: Gravitas: Study reveals that intermittent fasting can lead to heart problems

Hence, the human brain's preservation in a body where even the bones have decayed is an incredibly rare phenomenon, which is of a kind occurrence. 

Morton-Hayward, along with her colleagues, to understand how rare the find is embarked on a search for preserved human brains across the world.

"The archive compiled here represents the first step toward a comprehensive, systematic investigation of ancient brains beyond approximately 12,000 years before the present, and is essential to maximizing the molecular and morphological information they yield as the most metabolically active organ in the body, and among the most commonly preserved soft tissues," wrote the authors, in their paper.

"Ancient brains may provide new and unique paleobiological insights, helping us to better understand the history of major neurological disorders, ancient cognition and behaviour, and the evolution of nervous tissues and their functions," they added. 

(With inputs from agencies)