[Curiosities] This Ancient Human Brain Remained Almost Perfectly Intact For 2,600 Years — And Experts Might Finally Know Why

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A new study found that a mysterious compound could have protected the brain from being attacked by destructive enzymes.

In 2008, archaeologists dug up a man’s skull at an excavation site in the U.K. The man who the skull belonged to most likely died thousands of years ago — possibly by hanging, judging by the damage to the neck vertebrae. The decapitated skull was at least 2,600 years old. Naturally, most of the remains had deteriorated, but the researchers found something peculiar. A small piece of the brain remained intact.Dubbed the “Heslington brain” after it was found in the British village of Heslington, the exceptionally well-preserved piece of brain is the oldest brain specimen that has ever been discovered in the U.K. But how did this brain last for so long without completely deteriorating like most of the other body parts? Researchers may finally have an answer. According to Science Alert, researchers involved in a recent study examining the well-preserved brain believe the key lies in a mysterious compound that spread from the outside of the organ.

“Combined, the data suggest that the proteases of the ancient brain might have been inhibited by an unknown compound which had diffused from the outside of the brain to the deeper structures,” they wrote in the report. Researchers noted the putrefaction of the human body after death usually starts within 36 to 72 hours, and complete skeletonization is typically expected within five to 10 years. Therefore, “the preservation of human brain proteins at ambient temperature should not be possible for millennia in free nature.” But results suggest that a Heslington brain situation could be possible if an unidentified compound acted as a “blocker” to protect the organic material from destructive enzymes called proteases in the months after death. Researchers believe this unknown “blocker” prevented the proteases from attacking the Heslington brain, allowing the organ’s proteins to form stabilized aggregates that made it harder for the material to break down — even in warm temperatures.Over the course of a year, the team closely monitored the progressive breakdown of proteins in another modern brain specimen, which they then compared with the degradation of the Heslington brain. Our brains are able to function through a network of intermediate filaments (IFs) inside our brains, which maintain the connection between our neurons and their long bodies. In the study’s experiment, the Heslington brain appeared to possess shorter and narrower weaves of IFs, mimicking those of a living brain.

While much of the body had deteriorated, the Heslington brain was well-preserved in the skull.