Due to it being placed in an unknown liquid, the 2200 year-old body of Xin Zhui, a Chinese noblewoman, was found remarkably well preserved in her airtight tomb. Her skin, muscles, organs, blood vessels, hair, and even finger prints were preserved, making her one of the best preserved ancient human remains.
Above is a reconstruction of Xin Zhui. The
people recreating her have been overly generous in their depiction — the real
woman at the time of death was morbidly obese and dangerously ill. I could
share the image of her body, too, as it was removed from her tomb and has since
been photographed many times. But ever since it was touched by air and
unsealed, it doesn’t look quite like how she used to during her lifetime.
Apparantly her veins and arteries all had some sort of embalming fluid in them.
Virtually her entire body was — and remains — intact. She was discovered in
1971 and remains a bit of an enigma.
Due to having been so well-preserved,
scientists were able to track her physical health very well. And it was… bad.
Really bad:
“Xin Zhui suffered from many ailments that
eventually led to a heart attack that killed her. Along with schistosomiasis, a
parasitic infection, she also had coronary thrombosis and arteriosclerosis,
most likely linked to excessive weight gained due to a sedentary lifestyle,
diabetes, angina pectoris, liver disease, and hypertension. Lumbago and a
compressed spinal disc probably caused her immense pain, which contributed to a
decrease in physical activity. She also suffered from gallstones, one of which
lodged in her bile duct and further deteriorated her condition. Her arteries
were almost totally clogged”
The contents of her stomach were also preserved — as it turns out, she wolfed down on an entire watermelon of prodigious size, which likely killed the noble lady. Strange eating habits and a ton of health issues ensured she died in her late forties.
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