Identification of Milk Component in Ancient Food Residue by Proteomics

Proteomic approaches based on mass spectrometry have been recently used in archaeological and art researches, generating promising results for protein identification. Little information is known about eastward spread and eastern limits of prehistoric milking in eastern Eurasia.In this paper, an ancient visible food remain from Subeixi Cemeteries (cal. 500 to 300 years BC) of the Turpan Basin in Xinjiang, China, preliminarily determined containing 0.432 mg/kg cattle casein with ELISA, was analyzed by using an improved method based on liquid chromatography (LC) coupled with MALDI-TOF/TOF-MS to further identify protein origin. The specific sequence of bovine casein and the homology sequence of goat/sheep casein were identified.The existence of milk component in ancient food implies goat/sheep and cattle milking in ancient Subeixi region, the furthest eastern location of prehistoric milking in the Old World up to date. It is envisioned that this work provides a new approach for ancient residue analysis and other archaeometry field

Integrating typological and stylistic characteristics with scientific results on the provenance study of of proto-porcelain from the Yejiashan Cemetery dating to the early western Zhou Dynasty

Abstract There has been widespread concern about the provenance of proto-porcelain in previous studies, which is fundamental in determining the origin of porcelain. However, there are still different opinions on the provenance of proto-porcelain. To discuss this question, this study analyzed 21 proto-porcelain shards, excavated from the Yejiashan Cemetery, on the basis of typology, petrography, and LA-ICP-AES methodologies. Three shards from the Panlongcheng site were also collected for comparative analysis. The typological analysis showed that the majority of proto-porcelain samples from the Yejiashan Cemetery were similar to those from Northern China in type, shape, decoration,and glaze color, while 2 shards showed typical Southern characteristics. The petrographic analysis indicated that there were two different patterns of distribution for quartz particles in the collected samples, which suggested the potential existence of at least two different origins. The LA-ICP-AES analysis results also supported two different origins for Yejiashan proto-porcelain and suggested that one may originate from Zhejiang Province in Southern China. In summary, our study has demonstrated the existence of at least two distinct provenance areas for the proto-porcelain sourced from the Yejiashan cemetery. This distinction is founded upon disparities in typological characteristics, distribution patterns of quartz particles, and chemical compositions. This conclusion contributes to a better understanding of cultural exchange between the Zeng state and neighboring regions and can shed light on the manufacturing industry of the early Western Zhou Dynasty (1046–771 BC)

Archaeobotanical study of ancient food and cereal remains at the Astana Cemeteries, Xinjiang, China.

Starch grain, phytolith and cereal bran fragments were analyzed in order to identify the food remains including cakes, dumplings, as well as porridge unearthed at the Astana Cemeteries in Turpan of Xinjiang, China. The results suggest that the cakes were made from Triticum aestivum while the dumplings were made from Triticum aestivum, along with Setaria italica. The ingredients of the porridge remains emanated from Panicum miliaceum. Moreover, direct macrobotantical evidence of the utilization of six cereal crops, such as Triticum aestivum, Hordeum vulgare var. coeleste, Panicum miliaceum, Setaria italica, Cannabis sativa, and Oryza sativa in the Turpan region during the Jin and Tang dynasties (about 3(rd) to 9(th) centuries) is also presented. All of these cereal crops not only provided food for the survival of the indigenous people, but also spiced up their daily life

Fruit stones from Tiao Lei's tomb of Jiangxi in China, and their palaeoethnobotanical significance

Fruit stones were discovered in Mr. Tiao Lei's Tomb (around 300 AD) at Nanchang, China. The morphology and anatomy of the fruit stones were investigated. They are identified as belonging to three species, namely, Chinese plum (Prunus salicina Lindley), red bayberry (Myrica rubra Sieb. et Zucc.), and Chinese date (Ziziphus jujuba Mill.). These stones suggest the possibility of orchards in the local area, and the fresh or processed drupes of these three species probably played important roles in the tomb owner's life. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Measured data of dendriform epidermal long cells and the R value of samples.

<p>Measured data of dendriform epidermal long cells and the R value of samples.</p

Data regarding unearthed cereal and food remains from tombs.

<p>Data regarding unearthed cereal and food remains from tombs.</p