Word: li
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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Modern medical techniques have been used many times to examine the remains of long-buried people. Studies of mummies have revealed that many ancient Egyptians had dental problems, arthritis, pneumonia and plague. Egypt's legendary Merneptah, the Pharaoh of the Hebrew Exodus, suffered from arteriosclerosis. But Lady Li's body is unquestionably the best preserved ever to be subjected to a full-fledged autopsy...
...Lady Li's tomb was uncovered by Chinese archaeologists, who determined by the pottery, clothing and other artifacts found inside that it had been built during the early Western Han Dynasty, which ruled China from 206 B.C. to A.D. 24. The tomb was immediately recognized as a major historical and artistic find. But it was not until archaeologists began to exhume the body of Lady Li, whose husband was the Marquis of Tai, that they realized that they had made a significant scientific discovery as well...
...Lady Li's silk-wrapped body had been placed inside an airtight coffin that was the innermost of six boxes packed in five tons of charcoal, completely surrounded by a layer of white clay and, finally, buried under more than 60 ft. of earth. Furthermore, inside the inner coffin scientists found a reddish, mildly acid fluid containing mercurial compounds that preserved body moisture and helped retard decomposition...
Perfect Preservation. As a result of the conscientious efforts of the Han Dynasty embalmers, Lady Li's body was in a remarkable state of preservation. Doctors who examined it discovered that the flesh was not dried like that of a mummy, but still moist. They also found the hair well anchored in the scalp and the joints still flexible. Although Lady Li's brain had collapsed into a shapeless mass, her other internal organs were in excellent condition...
Specialists called in from Peking, Shanghai and Canton discovered from chemical analysis of Lady Li's hair and tissues from her stomach, liver, muscles and bone that she had type A blood. Gynecological examination revealed that she had borne children...