中文导读 几千年前的埃及人把防腐配方写进文献，但植物名称往往对不上今天的物种。马尔堡大学团队把化学分析与埃及学、药学史结合起来，研究木乃伊相关材料；NPR 于 2026 年 11 月 2 日报道，论文刊于《美国科学院院刊》（PNAS）。他们在 24 件馆藏中，于一件约公元前 8 世纪的木乃伊头骨与一件 18 世纪 Mumia vera 药剂里检测到芦荟属相关分子；旧称“aloe”曾混用沉香木等材料，此次化学特征指向真正的芦荟属。芦荟相关化合物仅出现在两件样品，故不能说它是常规防腐成分；研究还提示化学比对可帮助重建失散的馆藏关联。阅读时可留意 because、although、yet、so 如何连接证据与边界，以及 may、does not claim 如何保留不确定。
正文 How do scientists read recipes that were written thousands of years ago , when plant names no longer match modern ones ? A research team at Marburg University in Germany offers a new path . They combine chemistry with Egyptology and the history of pharmacy to study mummy materials . NPR reported the work on 2 November 2026. The study appears in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences .
本段译文 科学家怎样解读几千年前写下的配方——尤其当植物名称已对不上今天的物种？德国马尔堡大学的一个研究团队给出了新路径。他们把化学与埃及学、药学史结合起来，研究木乃伊相关材料。NPR 于 2026 年 11 月 2 日报道了这项工作。研究发表在《美国科学院院刊》。
Ancient Egyptian embalming used many plant , animal and mineral substances . Earlier tests had already found conifer resins , plant oils , animal fats , beeswax and bitumen . What remained unclear was which exact plants matched the words in old texts , and how recipes changed across time and place . The Marburg group analysed objects from university and museum collections . The set included bandages , embalming residues , body parts , two mummified skulls and powders once sold in Europe as Mumia vera aegyptiaca , a historical medicine linked to mummy materials
本段译文 古埃及防腐使用了许多植物、动物与矿物物质。较早的检测已发现针叶树脂、植物油、动物脂肪、蜂蜡与沥青。仍不清楚的是：旧文献中的词语究竟对应哪些具体植物，以及配方如何随时间与地点变化。马尔堡团队分析了来自大学与博物馆馆藏的 24 件物品，包括绷带、防腐残留物、人体部位、两具木乃伊头骨，以及曾在欧洲作为 Mumia vera aegyptiaca（与木乃伊材料相关的历史药剂）出售的粉末。
Two samples stood out . One was a mummified skull from Marburg’s zoological collection dated by radiocarbon methods to the eighth century BCE , about 2,700 years ago . The other was an eighteenth - century Mumia vera product from a German pharmacy , now held in Heidelberg . Both contained molecules associated with the Aloe plant genus . That matters because older European writers often used the word “aloe ” for more than one material including fragrant agarwood . The chemical signatures here point to true Aloe , not agarwood .
本段译文 两件样品尤为突出。一件是马尔堡动物学馆藏中的木乃伊头骨，经放射性碳测年属于公元前 8 世纪，距今约 2700 年。另一件是德国一家药房的 18 世纪 Mumia vera 产品，现藏于海德堡。两者都含有与芦荟属相关的分子。这一点很重要，因为较早期的欧洲作者常用 “aloe” 指称不止一种材料，包括香气沉香木。此处的化学特征指向真正的芦荟属，而非沉香木。
The finding also reopens a language puzzle Researchers revisited an ancient Egyptian term from the second millennium BCE whose meaning has been uncertain Descriptions of the substance and its use may fit aloe or an aloe product , although the team says the match is not yet proven . Aloe - linked compounds appeared in only two of the 24 objects , so the study does not claim that aloe was a standard embalming ingredient . It may have been used in certain periods , regions or when supplies were available . Outside expert Anne Austin notes that texts name plants , yet modern readers often cannot tell which living species those names once meant .
本段译文 这一发现也重新打开了一个语言谜题。研究者重审了公元前二千纪一个含义长期不确定的古埃及词。对该物质及其用途的描述可能符合芦荟或芦荟制品，但团队表示对应关系尚未得到证实。芦荟相关化合物只出现在 24 件物品中的两件，因此研究并不声称芦荟是标准防腐成分。它可能只在特定时期、地区或原料可得时使用。外部专家 Anne Austin 指出，文献会给出植物名称，但现代读者往往难以判断那些名称当年指的是哪些现存物种。
Chemistry also helped with museum detective work . Molecular patterns linked a mummified head and a separately catalogued powder that collection records never connected Several Mumia vera samples showed aged conifer resin markers . One extract modestly protected lab cells from flu related damage , but a major single compound did not , and the result does not prove any benefit in people . The wider lesson is careful : combining texts objects and molecules can recover lost details of craft and trade , while leaving room for limits and doubt
本段译文 化学也助力了博物馆的“侦探工作”。分子图谱把一具木乃伊头颅与一件单独编目、馆藏记录从未关联的粉末联系起来。多件 Mumia vera 样品显示了陈年针叶树脂的标记。一份提取物对实验室细胞抵御流感相关损伤有轻度保护，但其中一种主要单一化合物并未重现该效果，结果也不能证明对人有任何益处。更宽的启示需要谨慎表述：把文献、实物与分子结合起来，可以找回工艺与贸易中失落的细节，同时也要为限度与疑点留出空间。
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