PRESERVATION OF SOFT TISSUE 1077 



combines with the nitrous character of the sand, into which mois- 

 ture has seldom found its way, to desiccate and preserve the bodies 

 of the dead, thus mummifying them naturally. The same factors 

 have caused the clothing and objects placed with the dead to be 

 preserved for many centuries." (Mead-17 :tV.) Bodies of animals 

 have been similarly mummified, particularly those of household 

 pets, such as dogs and parrots ; and foods, such as corn and beans, 

 have been perfectly preserved. In the Atacama desert in Chile, in 

 the Chuquicamata copper mining district, was found the body of a 

 miner who had been caught, while at work, by a cave-in of the roof 

 of a mine in a side hill. "The stone and earth surrounding the 

 mummy were impregnated with anhydrous sulphate of copper 

 (brochantite), and sulphate of copper (blue vitriol). This mineral 

 prevented the organic matter from decomposition.^' "The skin 

 has not collapsed on the bones, as in 'the mummies found usually 

 in the region, but the body and limbs preserve nearly their natural 

 form and proi)ortions, except for the crushing . . ." which 

 took place on the caving-in of the mine. The age of the mummy 

 is unknown, but it is probably several hundred years old, as indi- 

 cated by the primitive character of the implements embedded with 

 the body. 



Preservation of . animal tissue by impregnation with mineral 

 matter also occurs. As an example may be mentioned the well- 

 preserved body of a negro woman which had been buried for fifty- 

 seven years and was found near Tuskegee, Macon county, Alabama, 

 in 1894. The body lay in a sandy soil where the water from a near- 

 by spring kept it continually wet. In this water, silica, lime, and 

 magnesia were held in solution, and silica, lime, and oxide of iron 

 in suspension. About 50 per cent, of the substance of the body 

 had been replaced by mineral matter. Lead was also found present 

 in the body and might have been active in its preservation. (Sted- 

 man-23.) All told, however, the complete preservation of the ani- 

 mal body is of rare occurrence, and probably never dates back 

 very far in geologic history. A remarkable exception to this rule 

 is found in the muscle fibers of Devonic and later fish, and in 

 IMesozoic reptiles, which have been so perfectly preserved by a 

 process of replacement that their structure can readily be de- 

 termined under the microscope. These will be noted again in 

 the discussion of modes of preservation. 



Impressions of the soft parts in rocks, or even a carbonaceous 

 film representing them, are found under favorable conditions. The 

 most familiar examples of this kind are ferns and other plant re- 

 mains, but those of animals are not unknown. In the fine litho- 



