Proteomic profiling of archeological human bone

We performed shotgun proteomics of human remains using rib bones from the Hitotsubashi site (1657–1683 AD) in Tokyo, called Edo in ancient times. Two infants and six adults, including four elderly adults, were obtained from the skeletal collection of the Hitotsubashi site in Tokyo, Japan. The individuals buried in this graveyard are townspeople, known from the fact that the largest proportion of graves consisted of the wooden coffins typically used for the lower social classes. The sex and age at death of the adult skeletons were estimated using the diagnostic standards of Nagaoka and Hirata (Nagaoka et al., 2007). Sex was determined by the sexual dimorphism of the pelvis (e.g., Bruzek, 2002). This study estimated age at death for each individual by the observation of the auricular surface of the ilium using the method of Buckberry and Chamberlain. Each obtained stage of the auricular surface of the ilium is then transformed into an average age at death with standard deviation shown in the data of Buckberry and Chamberlain. The age at death of sub-adults was estimated by the degree of formation and eruption of teeth.