Dress and kill: the clothes of Chilean mummies were infected with deadly toxins.

Cinnabar is a naturally occurring bright red mineral containing mercury, which will release a highly toxic gas when heated. (Image copyright) H.Zell, CC BY-SA 3.0 Hundreds of years ago, the graves of two female mummies in Chile were a risk to archaeologists: cloth dyed red by vermilion, a highly toxic mineral from mercury mines. "kdspe" and "kdsps" are dangerous red powders, which were first discovered when mummies were discovered in the 1970s. However, although the iconic color of cinnabar was previously related to Inca culture, it has never been seen in the cultural background of the area where the mummy was found. Archaeologists report in a new study that,

Scientists recently analyzed the fine red pigment in the mummy's tomb and found that it was actually cinnabar, which provided first-hand evidence for ancient people in northern Chile to use this mineral in rituals. Color of blood: This is the reddest red (photo), "KDSP" and "KDSP" in nature. /kloc-the mummy unearthed in 0/976 was unearthed in the graveyard dating from Cerro Esmeralda, about 1399 to 1475. The remains of these two young women, one aged 9 at the time of death and the other aged 18 to 20 at the time of death, were found in the fetal position together with 104 cultural relics. Archaeologists suspect that these bodies were buried after the Inca sacrifice ceremony, which may be an important ceremony. Scientists reported in their previous analysis of mummies that according to the quality of the items buried with the bodies, they were found on mummies.

This fabric is colored with bright red pigment; The author of this study wrote that this color is usually formed by hematite in the Andes when the tomb owner is alive (or dead). But their chemical and microscopic investigation found that the source of this color is cinnabar.

"The new chemical analysis we obtained shows that cinnabar exists in the clothes of the mummy of Cerro Esmeralda," scientists reported, saying that this toxic substance is a special foreign funeral product in northern Chile. Kdspe, Kdspe, Kdspe and kdsps cinnabar are the main sources of mercury and are soft minerals, which usually exist in rocks. It is a sedimentary rock composed of pre-existing rocks or volcanic rocks, and usually appears near volcanoes or hot springs. According to the US Geological Survey,

And then he died.

Previous research on clothing shows that cinnabar was used by Incas with high social status when holding ceremonies, and its appearance in mummies' clothing implies that the ceremony of taking their lives has important cultural significance. However, where cinnabar comes from and what role it plays in rituals and social use remains to be discovered. The researchers wrote that no matter how minerals were used hundreds of years ago, handling ancient objects containing cinnabar may bring great risks to people who work in cultural relics today-the authors of the research report warned that inhaling it may have fatal consequences.

"It may lead to a series of health problems affecting the nervous and muscular system and gastrointestinal tract, and even death under extreme exposure," they reported.

In fact, it is possible that the Incas are well aware of the dangers of inhaling cinnabar, and they may deliberately scatter cinnabar on the ceremonial cemetery to deter grave robbers. Scientists say:

This discovery was published in the online edition of Archaeological Survey on May 25th.

This is an original article about life science.