In anthropology, objective parameters to adequately describe storage conditions and the preservation of mummies have yet to be identified. Considering that fatty acids degrade to stable products, we analysed their profile in human mummies and in control samples by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Originating from different epochs and civilizations, samples of the Tyrolean Iceman, other glacier corpses, a freeze dried mummy, corpses from a permafrost region, a corpse mummified immersed in water, and a desert mummy were evaluated. Chemometric analysis based on the concentrations of 16 fatty acids revealed the degree of similarity between anthropologic and fresh corpse samples, which was mainly influenced by the content of palmitic acid, oleic acid, and 10-hydroxystearic acid. The presence of 10-hydroxystearic acid was associated with immersion in water, whereas dry mummification was accompanied by high contents of oleic acid. Samples of the Tyrolean Iceman clustered between fresh tissue and those of other glacier corpses indicating the good preservation of this mummy. Thus, environmental post-mortem conditions were associated with characteristic fatty acid patterns suggesting that chemometric analysis of fatty acid contents may add to our knowledge about post-mortem storage conditions and the preservation of human corpses.
The toxicologic findings of a fatal poisoning with rifampicin (Rimactan) are presented. The concentration of rifampicin and its two major metabolites 25-desacetylrifampicin and 3-formylrifamycin in post-mortem blood, urine, bile and liver at about 10 h after ingestion of 14-15 g was determined using a high-performance liquid chromatographic method. The results of the toxicological analyses were compared with findings in fatal and non-fatal intoxications and after therapeutic administration of the drug. Possible explanation for the fatal outcome is given.
Glaciological and forensic aspects of six corpses released from glacier ice during summer 1991 are discussed in detail. The times of immersion in glacier ice of fatally injured persons can vary from several years to several centuries. The corpses are transported along a flow line beneath the surface of the glacier and emerge on the surface only after reaching the ablation area. Immersion times of more than 1000 years are possible with corpses buried in stagnant or dead ice areas. Adipocere and mummification are characteristic changes to soft tissues and organs. The Homo tyrolensis found on Hauslabjoch (elevation 3200 m (10500 ft), Oetztal Alps, Austria) was determined to be 5000 years old.
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