Analysis of 8000-year-old brain tissue from the Windover site • 63 



Table 3. Water chemistry of the Windover site (mg/1) 



Laboratory Number 



878SP S79f 10604= 10491"^ 



a. Water standing in Windover pond prior to excavation 

 or wellpointing. This represents percolation of waters 

 from the peat deposits with some mixture of surface 

 runoff and rainwater. 



b. Wellpoint sample taken moments after 5 wellpoints 

 vwere installed - this is probably the best estimate of the 

 waters actually saturating the peat strata. 



c. Water seeping into one, of the deeper excavation units, 

 it predominantly reflects the underlying waters with some 

 mixture of the peat waters. 



d. Water from a nearby pond. 



WATER CHEMISTRY 



In contrast to a nearby pond. Windover water was substan- 

 tially more mineralized with high amounts of calcium, mag- 

 nesium, total dissolved solids, and sulfates (Flowers Chemi- 

 cal Laboratory, Altamont Springs, Florida). Additionally, the 

 pH of the Windover samples are generally closer to neutral 

 than the nearby pond water samples (Table 3 ). 



Zagreb Paleopaihology Symp. I98X 



Figure 3. Lateral radiograph shows material that, 

 though shrunken in comparison to the bone and 

 settling toward the base, resembles the expected 

 configuration of brain within the skull. This mass 

 proved to be peat surrounding a residual brain . 



ANATOMICAL AND CELLULAR ANALYSIS 



Based on the number of adult crania and subadult crania and 

 mandibles, at least 172 individuals were recovered from the 

 Windover site. The recovered bone was well preserved and 

 nonfriable. Ninety recovered crania contained soft tissue 

 remnants, sometimes preserved as recognizable brains and 

 sometimes as amorphous masses of brain tissue mixed with 

 peat. Bone fragments from one of the crania containing a 

 brain were dated at 6990 + 70 b.p. (Isotrace TO-207) by ac- 

 celerator mass spectrometry (AMS) dating. 



Age and sex determinations based on cranial structure, 

 dental attrition, and limited postcranial skeletal evidence in- 

 dicated the two adult crania initially analyzed were from a 

 female at least 45 years old and a male about 25 years old. 

 When the female intracranial mass was removed, the imme- 

 diate visual impression was of a human brain; however, it 

 was extremely fragile, making handling difficult. Therefore, 

 analysis of the male cranium was carried out by a non- 

 invasive appraisal using conventional x-ray imaging, com- 

 puterized axial tomography, and proton magnetic resonance 

 imaging (MR). 



X-ray analysis proved useful in evaluating brain position 

 but provided little additional information (Figure 3). Chemi- 

 cally different components were easily recognized and differ- 

 entiated by false color MR imaging which enhanced contrast 

 (Figure 4). In this analysis, the skull content ranges in con- 

 trast from light gray to dark gray. A high MR signal intensity 

 is represented by light gray and low by dark gray. Living 

 tissue yields a high signal intensity from soft tissue like fat 

 and a lower signal intensity from dense connective tissue. 

 When the brains were later sectioned, the dark gray region 

 proved to be peat, whereas the light gray region was clearly 

 brain matter (Figure 5). 



