Katherine Reece Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Yes... there are tobacco leaves .... but see
> here:
>
Quote:
> Another possibility is that the presence of
> nicotine and the traces of tobacco leaves found in
> Ramses II mummy may have resulted from the use of
> tobacco sprays as an insecticide to conserve the
> mummies whilst they were stored in museums in the
> nineteenth century. [28] Mummies are prone to
> insect infestation following entombment or
> exhumation and museums continue to wage war
> against insect pests. In recent investigations at
> least three different species of beetle including
> Thylodrias contractus Mots, Tyrophagus sp. and
> Lassioderma serricorne (F.) have been identified
> from the mummy of Ramses II. Most speculation has
> centred on L. serricorne due to its common name,
> the tobacco beetle. This species was first
> recorded in the U.S.A. in 1886 but has several
> similar forms in the Old World and it is also
> often found as a pest in museum collections.
>
> Tobacco has been used as an insecticide in Europe
> since 1763 and so it would not have been unusual
> for it to have been applied to the mummy of Ramses
> II for conservation. The mummy of Ramses II was
> subjected to a mercury bath to de-louse it whilst
> it was kept in the Cairo museum. [28] The
> preparation of the mummy began by “washing with a
> decoction of tobacco-leaves in a strong lye”.
> Mummies are also often moved around between
> museums and other storage locations where
> contamination may occur. So even though the post
> excavation history of a mummy may appear well
> documented this has not always been the case.
>
> The Stoned Age by Duncan Edlin
> In the Ma'at articles section here:
>
> Kat
>
> Ma'at Moderator
>
> Founder and Director of The Hall of Ma'at
> Amun: Co-Owner/Co-Moderator
> Contributing author to Archaeological Fantasies:
> How pseudoarchaeology misrepresents the past and
> misleads the public
> Kat's Personal Site
>
>
> "If you panic, you're lost" -- W. T. 'Watertight'
> Southard
see
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