ISTANBUL, TURKEY—Well-preserved brain tissue has been discovered in four Bronze Age skeletons at the site of Seyitömer Höyük in western Turkey. Meriç Altinoz of Haliç University thinks that an earthquake followed by a fire could account for the burnt layer of sediment in which the skeletons were found. The brains would have cooked in their own fluids, and the chemical composition of the soil also contributed to their preservation.