New archive of ancient human brains challenges misconceptions of soft tissue preservation

Soft tissue preservation in the geological record is relatively rare, and except where deliberate intervention halts the process of decay (like embalming or freezing), the survival of entire organs is particularly unusual. The spontaneous preservation of the brain in the absence of any other soft tissues—that is, the brain's survival among otherwise skeletonized remains—has historically been regarded as a 'one-of-a kind' phenomenon.