Human mummified brain from a medieval tomb with lime‐soil mixture barrier of the Joseon Dynasty,Korea

Although all of the Korean medieval mummies found up to the present time have shown relatively well‐preserved brains, relevant biomedical information has been difficult to acquire owing to the obstacles to obtaining permission to conduct invasive investigations. However, recently we were able to secure permission to investigate, through various forms of examination including dissection, a well‐preserved brain found in a lime‐soil mixture barrier (LSMB) tomb in Yongin, Korea, because the remains found within the tomb were mostly skeletal. As in the cases of mummified brains from tombs found in other countries, the current Yongin case showed well‐preserved grey and white matter within well demarcated brain lobes, on which sulci and gyri could be identified. On histological examination, we found that the remaining brain tissue was composed mainly of lipids, which seems to correspond to the preserved myelin sheath. The present paper is the first report on the general preservation status of a mummified brain found in Korea. Moreover, because mummified brains are found quite frequently in LSMB medieval tombs, this study could provide a good basis upon which further such palaeo‐neuropathological studies can be progressed. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Middle power strategic choices and horizontal security cooperation: the 2009 Australia-South Korea security cooperation agreement

ABSTRACT

This article examines why Asia-Pacific middle powers cooperate with each other on security issues. The article challenges the assumption that middle powers are primarily influenced by great-power structural factors in their security relations with each other. It argues that the dominant structural explanations of security cooperation between secondary states—balancing against the rise of China, responding to burden-sharing pressure from the United States, or hedging during a period of great power transition—have not been sufficiently tested. Using the 2009 Australia-South Korea security cooperation agreement as a representative example of middle power security cooperation, it finds that inter-personal leadership preferences played a key intervening role in filtering existing structural incentives into actual policy cooperation. It shows how congruence in leadership preferences shapes when and with whom middle powers are likely to cooperate on security issues. The article opens up the research agenda on middle powers by examining how they approach security relations in bilateral and horizontal contexts with each other.