Collaborative Research: Development and Application of Proteomics-based Research in Archaeological Residue Analysis

在美国国家科学基金会的支持下，史蒂夫·沃尔弗顿博士和一个跨学科的同事团队将进行为期一年的分析化学研究，以去除考古陶器中痕量的食物残留物。该团队汇集了考古学、蛋白质化学、植物脂质化学和环境生物学方面的专家，以解决从考古烹饪容器碎片中去除蛋白质残留物的巨大障碍。与其他种类的食物（如脂肪）不同，蛋白质在烹饪过程中与粘土紧密结合。然而，这种紧密的结合结构是因祸得福，因为它可能保护考古遗址中蛋白质片段免受时间的侵蚀。挑战在于打破陶土和残留物中矿物质之间的紧密联系。与研究其他食物残留物相比，蛋白质残留物可能为考古学家提供了独特的科学优势；当蛋白质被保存下来并从陶器中取出时，它们可以被识别为物种和组织（其他残留物只能提供粗糙的分辨率）。重要的是，解决这一方法论上的挑战将为考古学中提出广泛的问题提供一个新的基础，无论是在研究史前生存（人们吃什么）还是陶器功能（人们用陶器做什么）方面。这项研究有几个重要的含义。从陶器中提取蛋白质残留物的能力可能使研究人员能够利用更广泛的考古记录来研究过去的生存和陶器功能。在动物（动物骨骼）和植物（种子、坚果、花粉）遗骸保存不佳的地区，这是考古学中的一个普遍问题，陶器残留物可能为过去的饮食和人工制品功能提供了独特的信息来源。这项技术可以应用于农业起源的问题，这通常与世界许多地方的陶器发展有关。这项研究将被纳入各种教育环境中，其中包括让代表性不足的文化群体参与这项研究。在研究生阶段，考古学和生物化学的学生是这项研究的组成部分。这项研究将通过以下途径向公众传播：1)榆树福克教育中心，这是一个位于校园内的科学教育项目，每年为2万多名K-8学生提供服务；2)克劳峡谷考古中心，一个位于科罗拉多州科尔特斯的非营利组织，为公众，特别是学生和教育工作者提供考古教育项目；3)邀请研究小组成员到学校、教育活动和当地考古学会做公开讲座。

With National Science Foundation support, Dr. Steve Wolverton and an interdisciplinary team of colleagues will conduct a year of analytical chemistry research into removing trace-level food residues from archaeological pottery. The team brings together specialists in archaeology, protein chemistry, plant-lipid chemistry, and environmental biology to tackle what has been a sizeable hurdle in removing protein residues from archaeological cooking vessel fragments. Unlike other classes of food resides (e.g., fats), proteins bind very tightly to clay during cooking. This tight binding structure is, however, a blessing in disguise because it likely protects protein fragments from deterioration over time in archaeological sites. The challenge has been breaking those tight bonds between minerals in pottery clays and residues. Protein residues potentially provide a distinct scientific advantage to archaeologists over study of other food residues; proteins can be identified to species and tissue when they are preserved and removed from pottery (other residues offer only coarse resolution). Importantly, addressing this methodological challenge will provide a new basis for asking wide ranging questions in archaeology both in terms of studying prehistoric subsistence (what people ate) and pottery function (what people used their pottery for).There are several important implications of this research. An ability to extract protein residues from pottery potentially enables researchers to study past subsistence and pottery function using a broader archaeological record. In areas where faunal (animal bones) and botanical (seeds, nuts, pollen) remains are poorly preserved a common problem in archaeology pottery residues might provide a unique source of information on past diet and artifact function. The technique can be applied to questions of agricultural origins, which is often associated with development of pottery in many parts of the world. This research will be incorporated into a variety of educational settings, which includes exposure of under-represented cultural groups to this research. At the graduate level, archaeology and biochemistry students are integral components of this research.. The research will be disseminated to the general public through several avenues: 1) UNTs Elm Fork Education Center, a science education program located on campus that reaches over 20,000 K-8 students each year; 2) Crow Canyon Archaeological Center, a nonprofit organization in Cortez, Colorado with archaeological education programs for the public, in particular students and educators; and 3) invited public lectures at schools, educational events, and local archaeological societies by members of the research team.