The analysis of proteins preserved in archaeological and paleontological contexts (termed palaeoproteomics) is an exciting new area in archaeological science, generating ground-breaking new insights into the phylogenies of extinct species, human and animal diets, as well as patterns of health and disease. In particular, a game-changer has been the discovery of protein evidence for biological sex beyond the survival of ancient DNA. Preserving in enamel, the protein amelogenin in humans occurs as an x- or y-isoform (from genes located on the x and y chromosome), enabling the identification of biological sex in fossil teeth, and therefore has vast potential for examining sex-based population patterns. This PhD will advance this exciting avenue of archaeological science by democratizing this technique. The project will exploring a low-cost, high-throughput mass spectrometry-based approach for the protein-based identification of biological sex and expand this approach to include non-human taxa. This rapid and low-cost approach will have substantial implications for future understandings of past animal management and domestication and sex-based patterns in the archaeological record.
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