Proteomic sexing of archaeological cattle remains at Neolithic Kilshane

Bibliographic Data

ID11897692
AuthorsMichael Buckley (0000-0002-4166-8213, University of Manchester, corresponding author), Fabienne Pigière (0000-0002-0038-0870, University of Bristol), Manasij Pal Chowdhury (0000-0003-2805-2366, University of Manchester), Andrew C Kitchener (0000-0003-2594-0827, University of Edinburgh), John Smyth (0000-0001-8124-1444, University College Dublin)
Year2024
Volume172
Pages106102-106102
Publication date2024-10-22
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Archaeological Science (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0305-4403 • E-ISSN: 1095-9238
PublisherElsevier BV (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1016/j.jas.2024.106102
OpenAlexW4403638760
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited27

Although proteomic techniques have been increasingly used to improve our understanding of the human past, few have focussed on the study of tooth enamel for sexing in archaeofaunal remains, despite initial studies over a decade ago investigating human teeth. Here we explore the use of LC-orbitrap-MS/MS for identifying the sex of archaeological domestic cattle remains from the Neolithic enclosure at Kilshane, Ireland (c. 3600 cal. BC), in addition to modern reference materials. Although several individuals could be confidently identified as male, and some less confidently as female, there were also some inconsistencies with predictions based on morphology, albeit such estimations based largely on size. Through comparison with osteometric analyses, the proteomic analyses estimated 14 consistent identifications and six discrepancies, with one of the two speculative males confirmed through the use of proteomics. The male/female proportions for the osteometric analysis based on the metacarpals, the most sexually dimorphic skeletal element, showed that slightly over 50% of the bones were from females and slightly under 50% from males, whereas in the case of proteomics, depending on what level of caution we place on biomarker usage, this is much lower for the identification of males, ranging from 12.5 to 46% (3–11 specimens of 24 successful proteome samples with estimated sex based on their molars). Unexpectedly, our results show evidence of clear differences between modern reference materials and archaeological materials, likely reflecting preservation biases relating to the protein sequences. • Proteomic sexing of domesticated cattle remains from Neolithic enclosure site. • Comparison with morphological sex estimation methods. • Clear differences between ancient and modern enamel proteomes in peptides observed. • Proposed screening criteria relating quality of recovered proteome to ameloblastin relative abundances, in addition to the x-form of amelogenin

Ancient DNA · Archaeology · Biology · Geography · Sexing · Zooarchaeology · Zoology · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Demography · Forensic and Genetic Research · Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Studies

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