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| | Complex organic chemical balms of Pharaonic animal mummies : Nature |
 | | Moreover, the ancient Egyptians treated animals with great respect, regarding them both as domestic pets and representatives of the gods; for example, the cat symbolized the goddess Bastet; the hawk, Horus; the ibis, Thoth, and so on. |
 | | We report here the results of chemical investigations of tissues and wrappings from Pharaonic cat, hawk and ibis mummies using gas chromatography, gas chromatography−mass spectrometry, thermal desorption−gas chromatography−mass spectrometry and pyrolysis−gas chromatography−mass spectrometry |
 | | The analyses reveal the presence of highly complex mixtures of n-alkyl and cyclic biomarker components characteristic of fats, oils, beeswax, sugar gum, petroleum bitumen, and coniferous, Pistacia and possibly cedar resins. |
| www.nature.com /doifinder/10.1038/nature02849 (345 words) |
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