Question

10) Explain what arsenic had to do with preserving bodies in the past and how that related to Sylvester’s body. Tell me how the solution was also used in the Civil War.
9) The scientist would like to study Sylvester’s body again and look at the contents of his body to try to determine when he may have died. How would studying food help determine the time of history a person died? (For instance, if they found chicken McNuggets, this may indicate the mummy lived recently)

Answer 1

10) Arsenic is a chemical agent which was used in preserving dead bodies in the past. It is mainly a formaldehyde mixture with coloring agents to give a dead body the look of life. Sylvester was a third mummy that was embalmed with arsenic in the late 1800s and is now on exhibit at Ye Olde Curiosity Shop in Seattle, Washington. His mummified body showed an extremely unusual since the remains weighed approximately 80 lbs when a body is composed of 70-80% water, after dehydration, the weight should be about 20-30% the premortem weight. The solution was also used during Civil War to preserve dead bodies as the dead were being shipped home from the battlefield.

9) Research can yield dates when certain plants/animals became domesticated and entered the standard diets of people, meaning you would not see masses eating beef before the cow became domesticated. To further this you can look at when a specific food was introduced into the diets of people in the geographic area of the person you are studying.