Bog bodies

Turner, R. C. and R. G. Scaife (1995), Bog Bodies New Discoveries and New Perspectives, British Museum, London. 

Evershed, R. P. (1990) Preliminary report of the analysis of lipids from samples of skin from seven Dutch bog bodies. Archaeometry 32, 139 153. 

Evershed, R. P. and Connolly, R. C. (1994) Post mortem transformations of sterols in bog body tissues. Journal of Archaeological Science 21, 577 583. 

Brothwell, D. R. and Gill-Robinson, H. (2002). Taphonomic and forensic aspects of bog bodies, in Advances in Forensic Taphonomy Method, Theory, and Archaeological Perspectives (W. D. Haglund and M. Sorg, Eds.). Boca Raton, FL CRC Press, 119-132. 

Fischer, C. (1998). Bog bodies of Denmark and north-western Europe, in Mummies, Disease and Ancient Cultures (A. Cockburn, E. Cockburn, and T. A. Reyman, Eds.). Cambridge, UK Cambridge University Press, 237-262. 

Evershed, R.P. and R.C. Connolly. 1994. Post-mortem transformation of sterols in bog body tis-... 

Evershed, R.P. (1992) Chemical composition of bog body adipocere. Archaeometry, 34,253-265. 

Dead bodies can be naturally mummified under a variety of environmental conditions, such as (1) at extremely low temperatures, about and below the freezing point of water, in extremely cold regions of the world (2) in very dry and hot environments, as in desert areas and in some caves and rock shelters or (3) under anaerobic (oxygen-free) conditions, as in bogs (see Chapter 8). 

Hillman, G. (1986). Plant foods in ancient diet The archaeological role of palaeofae-ces in general and Lindow Man s gut contents in particular, in Stead, I. M., J. B. Bourke, and D. Brothwell (eds.), Lindow Man The Body in the Bog, Cornell Univ.,... 

Shallow lakes are open water bodies a few metres deep. Only considered foe temperate and tropical regions in polar and boreal regions it is difficult to separate shallow lakes from bogs and fens. 

Intentional preservation such as that of Egyptian and Chinese mummies is not the only means by which archaeologists find ancient bodies. Sometimes accidental circumstances set up environmental conditions that also preserve a body. For example, peat bogs are wetlands with an accumulation of peat—partially decayed plants—and are common in northern Europe. Bodies that fell or were thrown into peat bogs thousands of years ago have been preserved, possibly due to the bog s lack of oxygen or the presence of antimicrobial chemicals. Hundreds of bog mummies, and partial mummies, have been found. 

This body is produced, together with numerous other com pounds of a like nature, by the destructive distillation of bog head cotd and similar substances. It is also found in petro leum and asphalt. If chlorine be passed into melted paraffin, the latter is slowly attacked, hydroohloric acid being evolved. In this reaction paraffin resembles the hydrides of the monad radicals, and differs ffom the dyad radiesds, to which dass it was formerly considered to belong. In the formula C shh-s for paraffin, the value of has not yet been satis ctorily determined in fact it is probable that. several distinct hy des of the class now under consideration are confounded under this name. 

Saponification also takes place in nature, when fatty tissue is buried in a wet alkaline environment. This usually occurs in a bog or other wetland, where the local soils are alkaline and the subsurface conditions are anaerobic. The fats in an animal s body will gradually be converted into insoluble fatty acids, white or light yellow waxy solids that are known as adipocere or grave wax. The soft tissue of human cadavers buried in swamps or bogs may be almost entirely composed of this material after a period of time. 

The pollen of many plants can be classified by genus, and sometimes by species, on the basis of such characteristics as size, shape, and surface texture, hi contrast, most spores can only be classified by higher taxonomic levels, such as family or order. Both pollen and spores are well preserved in lake sediment, peat bog, and many archaeological sites. Fossil pollen has even been identified from the bodies of extinct animals, such as mammoths discovered frozen in arctic permafrost (permanently frozen subsoil). 

After deciding on your thesis, jot down on scratch paper a brief plan or outline that sketches out the main points that will appear in the body of your essay. You might scribble a few key words to remind yourself of the supporting evidence or important details you will use. Don t get too bogged down in detailed outlining—just use enough words to help you stay on track. 

---