Use of Proteomics for Dietary Reconstruction: A Case Study Using Animal Teeth from Ancient Mesopotamia

This research examines animal teeth from Early Dynastic
(2900–2350
BCE) Mesopotamia (Southern Iraq) to assess animal management practices
and identify consumption patterns in animal diets. The objective to
answer larger questions about food management and environmental resilience
in ancient early complex societies in the Near East was achieved by
the use of mass spectrometry-based proteomics for dietary reconstruction.
Dietary MS, a revolutionary new methodology applying proteomics techniques
to archeological sample sets to reconstruct ancient animal diet. A
developed protein extraction technique followed by liquid chromatography
tandem mass spectrometry allowed for the identification of the specific
plant species consumed in order to highlight variable herd management
strategies, resource optimization, for each taxon over time. It also
provided information about overall health and indications of disease.
This is the first study to apply a full suite of analyses to the region
and provides the foundations of a necessary long-term view of human
interaction within an environment, through both time and space.