Posted on 06/03/2011 6:03:14 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
Ancient Egyptians may have been exposed to air pollution way back when, according to new evidence of particulates in the lungs of 15 mummies, including noblemen and priests.
Particulates, tiny microscopic particles that irritate the lungs, have been linked to a wide array of modern-day illnesses, including heart disease, lung ailments and cancer. The particulates are typically linked to post-industrial activities, such as fossil-fuel burning.
But after hearing of reports of such particulates being found in mummy tissue, Roger Montgomerie, a doctoral student at the KNH Centre for Biomedical Egyptology at the University of Manchester, decided to take a closer look at mummified lung tissue. His work represents the first attempt to identify and study particulates in multiple Egyptian mummies.
The 15 mummified lungs he's examined so far all showed particulates and the levels of them are not much below what he'd expect in modern-day lungs...
These mummies come from a broad cross section of Egyptian life. Some were ordinary workers who lived in a remote outpost called the Dakhleh Oasis, while others were of the upper class -- nobles and priests or priestesses...
While ancient Egypt was a preindustrial society, its people did engage in cooking, metal working and mining, all activities that can generate air pollution. In addition, the Egyptian climate, with its deserts and sandstorms, would have whipped up any grounded particulates into the air where they could easily be inhaled.
Now, Montgomerie has devised an experiment that he hopes will shed light on the origin of these tiny particles.
He is burning different sources of fuel used by the Egyptians and capturing the particulates they create.
(Excerpt) Read more at livescience.com ...
This mummy was discovered in Dakhleh Oasis, a remote outpost in southwest Egypt and lived around 1,800 years ago, at a time when the Romans occupied Egypt. Although much of the mummy remains are lost, the area around the lungs, where particulates were found, is well preserved. CREDIT: Photo courtesy Dakhleh Oasis Project.
oh bullSh*te-some greenie archeologist has a bug up their arse
that’s how it was back then
Bush’s fault...
“This mummy [...] lived around 1,800 years ago”
Seems to me it’s wrong to speak as if the “mummy” was the person, you know?
LOL. This guy must not have much experience with wood smoke. Another thing is that primitive people have to huddle right around a fire to keep warm or to cook. Cooking generates lots of particulates. When you fry things, little bits of fat go into the air. Some of them form visible greasy deposits on the windows far away. You're breathing that stuff.
Pollution did not originate with the Industrial Revolution.
“The 15 mummified lungs he’s examined so far all showed particulates and the levels of them are not much below what he’d expect in modern-day lungs.
“I would say it would be less than modern day, but not much less,” Montgomerie told LiveScience. This is “quite bizarre if you think about it, considering we have the mass burning of fossil fuels and an awful lot of pollution that has been going on since the industrial revolution.”
—So... why do we have an EPA, again?
Global warming alarmists aren’t wrapped too tight.
:O) don’t get me wrong i luv gods & glyphs but this research is just ...well, you heard my opinion on the author(s) or the article (not the poster) :)
this must be a slow day in gods & glyphs
:O) don’t get me wrong i luv gods & glyphs but this research is just ...well, you heard my opinion on the author(s) or the article (not the poster) :)
this must be a slow day in gods & glyphs
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One of the more revealing things is the lack of particulates and air pollution prevalent today. I would not be surprised if this were the healthiest things have ever been. Cities were cesspools.
In other news...this must be a slow day in gods & glyphs
MissDairyGoodnessVT: Do you think we really went to the moon?
bigheadfred: No Missd airy, we took LSD remember?
;-)
I remember Nightline had a show years ago where archaeologists had dug up lead sealed coffins from the first European settlers in America. They were supposed to do an air analysis to see what the air was like back then. Never heard the results.
I do know that Indians on the West Coast (PNW) burned every inch of their landscape at regular intervals to renew various products they used. (Fiddle grass, hazelnuts, sugar pine, baske making materials etc.) Well documented that the air was thick with smoke from forest fires almost every year where I live in N. CA. (Still is.)
Just heard a presentation on this from Dr. Bob Zybach, PhD Environmental Sciences OSU
http://www.nwmapsco.com/ZybachB/Curriculum_Vitae.htm
Sorry pal, I’ve never done drugs.
I really can’t make heads or tails out of comment so please explain.
omg egytians inhaled
omg egytians inhaled
You win.
LOLOLOL
Oil is produced my Americans, I just can’t figure out how we get it into Saudi sands.
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