Master Archaeologist

Chapter 297

We often use the term "melon-eating crowd" today to describe the people watching the excitement.

But in fact, in ancient times, there was never a shortage of "melon-eating nobles".

The 47 people buried together in the Eastern Zhou Tomb in Jing'an, Jiangxi Province died during the melon ripening season.

Mrs. Xin Zhui from the Western Han Dynasty unearthed at Mawangdui in Changsha died in the melon ripening season.

In the Western Han Dynasty, Liu He, the Marquis of Haihun, who was the emperor for only 27 days, died in the melon ripening season.

Archaeologists have found fragrant melon seeds from their remains.

Why do these ancient nobles have a soft spot for cantaloupe?

It's not because they love cantaloupe so much, but because they have no choice.

At that time, the "melon-eating nobles" had only one kind of melon to choose from if they wanted to eat melons, which was melons.

Later, the watermelon, which was the mainstay of the melon world, was recognized by the academic circles as only appearing in the Five Dynasties.

"New History of the Five Dynasties" records a period of Khitan's 7 years (AD 947-954) historical materials: "Then entered Pingchuan, where there were many plants and trees, and began to eat watermelon. Sweet like Chinese wax gourd."

Compared with watermelon, which spreads more slowly, melon has also spread its footprints all over the world because of its "happy with the situation" character.

Cantaloupe can be seen from Egypt in North Africa, extending eastward to West Asia, Central Asia, and even northern India.

In the Qianshanyang site in Huzhou, Zhejiang, two melon seed shells at least 3900 years ago were unearthed, proving that melons came to East Asia very early.

Cantaloupe is the common name for thin-skinned melon.

Although its plants and fruits are small, its skin is thin and brittle, and it is not resistant to storage.But cantaloupes also have obvious advantages. They can adapt to a warm and humid environment, have strong disease resistance, and can be extensively managed.

Ever since, the history of Huaxia eating melons has opened a chapter.

"Book of Songs Bin Feng July" says: "Eat melons in July, break pots in August, and uncles in September, pick tea and salamanders, and eat my farmers."

This shows that at least in the Zhou Dynasty when the Book of Songs was born, Chinese people already often eat melons in July.

The fragrant melon seeds found in the stomachs of the 47 people buried together in the Eastern Zhou Tomb in Jing'an can also prove it.

However, cantaloupe is not necessarily good.

Is cantaloupe poisonous, or did ancient people love to poison melons?
In academia, there has always been controversy.

As for the reason for the controversy, of course, it is because too many ancient people who died just after eating cantaloupe were unearthed.

Especially when Jingan Dongzhou Tomb and Mawangdui Tomb were unearthed one after another.

Because in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty tomb in Jing'an, among the 11 human remains in a single coffin, the individuals that can be detected are all females, all young girls in the blooming season, aged between 15 and 25 years old.

And they found fragrant melon seeds in their stomachs.

As a result, it was widely rumored that these girls died at the same time after eating poisonous cantaloupe.

When Mrs. Xinzhui of Mawangdui was unearthed, she also had fragrant melon seeds in her stomach, which intensified this guess.

Although, in the end, regarding this guess, the academic circles have proved that these people did not die from eating poisonous cantaloupe.

For those women who died in the burial, muskmelon had little to do with the cause of the death of the burial.

Mrs. Xin Zhui's death had something to do with the muskmelon, but it wasn't caused by poison.

According to the study of Mrs. Xin Zhui's body, it can be determined that the cause of her death was an acute attack.

But it has something to do with melons.

Melon itself is sweet in taste and cold in nature. It has the effects of clearing heat and relieving heat, relieving restlessness, quenching thirst, and diuresis.

However, if you eat too much, you will be prone to abdominal distension or diarrhea, especially for people who are weak or have a weak spleen and stomach.

And Mrs. Xin Zhui is just weak and sickly, with many chronic diseases.

The time of Mrs. Xin Zhui's death should be in the summer, most likely because of biliary colic caused by eating raw and cold melon, which induced coronary artery spasm, leading to severe heart rhythm disorder and sudden death.

Xin Zhui's death was most likely caused by an acute attack caused by eating a large amount of melon, which led to his death.

It can be said to be closely related to cantaloupe.

Does Haihunhou's death have anything to do with muskmelon?
Obviously, the political environment of Haihunhou Liu He is far more complicated than that of Xin Zhui, so the possibility of someone tampering with his food is not ruled out.

Chen Han immediately thought of whether these melons had been poisoned.

However, Kong Jianwen then raised an objection.

"If the poison was put in the melon, the melon seeds would stay in the stomach at most after Liu He died on the spot, and would not spread to the digestive tract and below."

Kong Jianwen and Chen Han discussed and said: "If the interval between eating and eating melon is too long, the melon seeds will also be excreted by Liu He, and it is unlikely that there will be any more in the body."

"So, it is very likely that Liu He died seven or eight hours after eating the cantaloupe."

"Seven or eight hours, if it's really poisonous, it won't take effect so slowly."

In fact, there were not many things that could be poisoned in the Western Han Dynasty.

Most of the toxins are naturally extracted, such as snake venom, poisonous mushrooms and the like.

And if you want to poison people to death, it will definitely take effect very quickly.

Usually ten minutes to half an hour, at most an hour, people die.

Just look at the situation of some people who were bitten by poisonous snakes or ate poisonous mushrooms in modern times.

Even if it is too late to be sent to the hospital for gastric lavage, he will die.

And the poisons made artificially in the Western Han Dynasty were things like arsenic.

But this kind of poison is also the same. If the dose is not enough, people will not die, and if the dose is enough, they will die quickly.

Such an interval of seven or eight hours before death should usually not be caused by poisoning.

At least in the Western Han Dynasty, it was unlikely.

"Then Liu He, like Mrs. Mawangdui Xinzhui, died suddenly due to some kind of acute disease caused by muskmelon?" Chen Han asked again.

If poisoning is ruled out, then you have to consider whether it caused an acute illness.

Because what is certain is that Haihunhou died seven or eight hours after eating the melon, which is the same as Mrs. Xin Zhui's situation.

But Mrs. Xin Zhui is old and frail after all, will the young Liu He be so weak?

Kong Jianwen is not sure either.

He pondered for a long time, and said: "From the literature records, when Liu He was 26 and seven years old, his complexion was very dark, his eyes were small, his stature was tall, and he had trouble walking. At this time, Liu He's health was indeed not very good."

"The dark complexion most likely indicates that Liu He has a liver problem, and the other leg is unsteady when walking, indicating that he still has cardiovascular and cerebrovascular blockage problems."

"In addition, those experts in physical anthropology also said that Liu He may have some gastrointestinal problems or dysentery."

"Although he is well-clothed and well-fed, he is malnourished."

"Liu He's stomach is indeed not very good."

"Theoretically, the cause of Liu He's death does have a lot to do with his own physical condition."

"Cantaloupe ripens in spring and summer, and it is humid and hot, and harmful bacteria grow. It is very likely that Liu He suffered from acute gastroenteritis after eating the cantaloupe, which led to an outbreak of cerebrovascular disease, and died six to seven hours later. "

"Of course, this is just a guess."

"Send these fragrant melon seeds to be tested first to see if there are any residual toxins, and we can discuss them later."

"Liu He's identity is so complicated, it may not be possible to rule out the possibility of him being poisoned 100%."

"We have actually done very little research on the poisons of the Western Han Dynasty. Maybe the Western Han Dynasty also has a poison that takes seven or eight hours to poison and kill!"

(End of this chapter)