http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/sci/2014-11/28/c_133821064.htm
China finds oldest gelatine adhesive
English.news.cn <http://www.xinhuanet.com/english2010/>   2014-11-28
18:17:11
<http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/sci/2014-11/28/c_133821064.htm#>
<http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/sci/2014-11/28/c_133821064.htm#>

URUMQI, Nov. 28 (Xinjiang) -- Scientists have identified China's oldest
adhesive, in the form of gelatine, from a 3,500-year-old ritual staff in a
tomb complex known for its well-preserved mummies in Xinjiang, northwest
China.

The translucent yellow adhesive was found on a wooden staff inlaid with
bone sculpture in the Xiaohe Cemetery in Taklamakan Desert, said Yang
Yimin, associate professor with the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Scientific analysis later identified the adhesive as gelatine made from
cattle. It was also the earliest known evidence of gelatine use in China,
Yang said.

Gelatine can be manufactured by cooking animal bones, skins and tendons and
has been commonly used as glue. Prior to the discovery, its use in China
dates back to the Han Dynasty (202 BC - 220 AD).

Experts said China's ancient glue is prone to decomposition, posing
difficulties for conducting analysis, but the dry climate in Xiaohe
Cemetery has helped preserve the substance.

The Xiaohe cemetery, 175 km west of the ancient city of Loulan, was first
explored by Folke Bergman, a Swedish archaeologist in 1934. The massive
burial site, with over 300 graves, is best known for its many mummies
preserved in ship-shaped coffins.

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