WAAT: Shotgun Proteomics of Archaeological Subsistence by Dr. Shevan Wilkin
Weekday Afternoon Anthropology Talk (WAAT)
September 18, 2023
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Location
BSB 2105 and on Zoom
Calendar
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Join us for the first WAAT of the semester! Dr. Shevan Wilkins from the Institute of Evolutionary Medicine at the University of Zurich will be presenting "Shotgun Proteomics of Archaeological Subsistence." Lunch will be provided.
Over the past 10 years, advances in ancient protein research have greatly added to our understanding of how past humans incorporated animals into their subsistence strategies. As proteins preserve over long time depths and can identify specific tissues as well as taxonomic classifications, their study offers important insights into which animals - and tissues (milk, blood, muscle) - were used for food preparation and consumption. In the absence of occupation sites and morphologically identifiable faunal remains, shotgun proteomics can provide researchers a view into past human-animal interactions in a sort of zooarchaeology-by-proxy. For example, regions such as the windswept steppe, protein analysis on human dental calculus have been especially illuminative, demonstrating the importance of sheep, goat, cow, yak, camel, and horse milk for individuals living between the Bronze Age to the Mongol Empire. This talk will detail examples of how the application of liquid chromatography, tendem mass spectrometry proteomics was able to analyse a diverse range of established and novel archaeological materials to illuminate the widespread use of primary and secondary animal products in ancient Europe, Asia, and Africa.
Date posted
Sep 12, 2023
Date updated
Sep 12, 2023