Today, the perfume market is filled with celebrity-backed scents to selections aimed at attracting the opposite sex. The concept of smelling good is nothing new, as ancient inhabitants have been brewing their own scented oils for thousands of years. In this article, you will encounter information about ancient Egyptian perfume, as well as March 2009 news about dinosaurs and early horse species.
The 3,500-Year-Old Scent
Are you curious as to what the ancient Egyptians smelled like when they dabbed a little perfume behind their necks? The Science Daily reported in March the desire of researchers to recreate a fragrance used by the ancient Egyptians from remnants found from a well-preserved example that is currently on display at Bonn University's Egyptian Museum. After a scan of a flacon dating back 3,500 years, computer tomography revealed that desiccated residues of a fluid could help piece together an ancient scent.
With awareness to power, Pharaoh Hatshepsut was a female rules who took over control of the Egyptian government in 1479 BC. She was only meant to represent her stepson Thutmose III, who was only 3 years old at the time. However, she was victorious in keeping her stepson out of power for 20 years and her perfume could hold the key to creating a rather powerful scent.
Theories about its ingredients include the addition of frankincense, which was known as the scent of the gods. Since the third millennium BC, frankincense was one of the precious goods that the Egyptians were known to import. During one expedition, whole frankincense plants were brought back to Hatshepsut, which she had planted in the midst of her funerary temple.
The Habits of Young Dinosaurs
After the discovery of fossils left behind by a herd of young birdlike dinosaurs, a team of Chinese and American paleontologists that excavated a site located in the Gobi Desert (western Inner Mongolia) have been able to shed light on some of the behaviors of young dinosaurs that lived nearly 90 million years ago. The studied group of dinosaurs died in the muddy margins of a lake – in a mud trap that allows us to peek into the social behavior of one of the most interesting creatures the earth has ever seen.
The collection of bones is comprised of all juveniles within a single species of ornithomimid dinosaur (Sinornithomimus dongi). Researchers believe the young dinos left their herd to fend for themselves. No adults or hatchlings were found in – the young dinosaurs were roaming on their own. Upon further investigation of the skeletons, it was found that stomach stones and the last meals of two of the dinosaurs had been preserved. Those remains were airlifted back to China in late February.
Earliest Horse Species Uncovered
Te Universities of Exeter and Bristol (in the United Kingdom) have found what they believe is the earliest known evidence of horses being domesticated by humans. In March, news broke that horses of the past were not only ridden, but also milked. The new information can shed light on some of the origins of the horse breeds still in existence. The research was published in the March 2009 edition of the academic journal Science.
