Ancient proteins extracted from ceramic residues

Ancient proteins were extracted from ceramic vessels from the West Mound of the key early farming site of Çatalhöyük, dating to the early 6th millennium BC. This analysis revealed that barley, wheat, pulses, as well as goat, sheep and bovinae dairy and meat products were contained in ceramic vessels. Moreover, this demonstrates that dietary proteins can be identified from archaeological artefacts from up to 6,000 BC and that this approach can unlock detailed evidence of past culinary practices, with more taxonomic and tissue-specific clarity than has been possible with previous biomolecular techniques.