Archaeologists recently excavated the contents of a medieval convent in France and came across something interesting: five heart-shaped urns made out of lead, containing some embalmed human hearts. The condition of the hearts (whose ages range from 1584 to 1655) was the first thing to surprise the scientists studying them. "Four of these hearts are very well preserved," said anthropologist Rozenn Colleter of the French National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research. "It is very rare in archaeology to work on organic materials. The prospects are very exciting."

The second surprise, however, came at the discovery that three of the four hearts show telltale signs of severe atherosclerosis, with plaque in the coronary arteries. The discovery that humans had atherosclerosis even 400 years ago is one of the most important discoveries from the study, says to radiologist Dr. Fatima-Zohra Mokrane of Rangueil Hospital at the University Hospital of Toulouse.

Possible Preaching Angle:

But then again, we have always known humanity to be a species of diseased hearts.

Source:

Will Dunham, “Modern science detects disease in 400-year-old embalmed hearts,” Yahoo News (12-2-15)