In order to determine whether ancient Egyptians had already selected and cultivated very specialized flax types according to their purpose for textile or oil production, respectively, we compared archaeobotanical flax finds with nearly 3000 diverse genebank accessions kept at the Plant Gene Resources of Canada (PGRC).
How did ancient Egypt preserve flax seeds?
The dry climate of Egypt has played a crucial role in preserving not only the flax seeds but also the capsules. This preservation allows for the expansion of the application of a multidisciplinary methodology to analyse ancient plant material and gain insights into the evolution of flax in Ancient Egypt.
When was Flax found in Egypt?
Desiccated preserved flax remains from Egyptian sites dating from the 3rd millennium BC to the second century AD (Fig. 1 and Table 1) that were collected at the end of the nineteenth century by Georg Schweinfurth, a German pioneer of archaeobotany and textile archaeology (Finneiser et al 2010; Fig. 2) were used for this study.
How do you get fatty acids from flax seeds?
These fatty acids are essential nutrients for humans and must be obtained through ingestion, as our bodies cannot produce them. The oil can be extracted from crushed flax seeds by boiling them in water. Once the liquid has cooled and the solid plant tissues have been removed, the oil can be separated.