The photo shows the oldest surviving human brain from the Iron Age approx. 2600 years ago.

 

The photo shows the oldest surviving human brain from the Iron Age approx. 2600 years ago.

 It was discovered in 2008 by researchers from the York Archeological Trust during

an excavation on the Heslington campus

of York University in the north of England. 

In one of the pits, human remains were found: skull, mandible and lower cervical vertebrae.  

Apart from them, no other bones were found.  An analysis showed that they belonged. 

to a middle-aged man. 

Using radiocarbon dating, it is established. 

that he died between 673 and 482 B.C.E.  Based on the state of preservation of the cranial sutures and teeth, it was established that he was between 25 and 45 years old

at the time of his death.

Marks and damage have been noticed

on the vertebrae, indicating that the man most likely died as a result of a spine fracture while hanging. Immediately after his death, his head was cut off with a sharp instrument. Based

on these conclusions, archaeologists believe that the man was a victim of a ritual murder.  Interestingly, a fragment of the brain is perfectly preserved in the skull. "At first it seemed to us that we are dealing with

an ordinary skull. But when we started cleaning it of dirt, we saw that it was not empty and had a yellowish brain" said Dr. Sonia O'Connor. 

of the University of Bradford.

Biochemical analyzes of the preserved brain were performed. At the time of death, the brain tissue breaks down very quickly, unlike the rest of the body. In this case, the head was quickly buried without the body in the moist clay soil that sealed it tightly and without oxygen. 

 Thanks to these conditions, the fats

and proteins of the brain came together into a single mass. This led to the brain shrinking by 20 percent, but at the same time it kept its shape and many microscopic structures. 

In addition, there has been a process of protein aggregation that we can see in the living brain.  It consists in combining and folding proteins in the so-called  aggregates.

 The same happens with the brains of people who are diagnosed with symptoms of dementia.

The find was dubbed "The Brain of Heslington".

Unfortunately, we will never find out who this man was and why he was sentenced to death.  Only its mitochondrial DNA could be identified.  The man had the J1d haplogroup, previously not found in the UK. A similar haplogroup has been detected in several people from Tuscany and the Middle East. It may have existed

in the past in what is now Britain, but it may have disappeared as a result of genetic drift. 

 The Heslington Brain is the world's oldest surviving human brain. Currently on display

at the Science Museum, London.