Most of the skull of the ancient woman known to Brazilians as Luzia survived the September 2 blaze that devastated the Brazilian National Museum. Her remains–which included most of her cranium and a few well defined bones and fragments–were discovered in Lapa Vermelha in 1975, Luzia survives in the person of her skull and parts of her legs and pelvis.

About 80 percent of Luzia's remains were found amid the rubble, said Alexander Kellner, the director of the museum. Also known to have survived the fire was one of the world's largest meteorites: A large part of the museum's 20-million-piece collection, including the 700-piece Egyptian collection, went up in flames and smoke, however.

The fire in the Rio de Janeiro museum went unchecked for several hours and destroyed most of the building, which was already in disrepair. About 10 percent of the museum's collection survived the blaze, the cause of which was still unknown for sure. Compounding the problem, the building's smoke detectors were inoperative, the building had no fire-suppression system, and the fire hydrants closest to the museum had no water (so firefighters had to get water from a nearby pond).

The museum was Brazil's oldest scientific and historic institution. Founded by King John VI of Portugal in 1818, the National Museum once was home to the Portuguese Royal Family and the Brazilian Imperial Family and was the location for the signing of the document that gave Brazil its independence in 1822.

The building became the museum in 1892 and became part of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro in 1946.