A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal

Assessing the recovery of immune proteins from mummified soft tissue versus archaeological bones




AuthorsPaasikivi, Sofia; O'Sullivan, Ronan James; Nordfors, Ulla; Liira, Anne-Mari; Lanigan, Liam Thomas; Schuenemann, Verena J.; Wilkin, Shevan

PublisherElsevier BV

Publication year2026

Journal: Journal of Archaeological Science

Article number106589

Volume191

ISSN0305-4403

eISSN1095-9238

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2026.106589

Publication's open availability at the time of reportingOpen Access

Publication channel's open availability Partially Open Access publication channel

Web address https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2026.106589

Self-archived copy’s web addresshttps://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/523490197

Self-archived copy's licenceCC BY

Self-archived copy's versionPublisher`s PDF


Abstract

Palaeoproteomic research has primarily concentrated on studying human bone, dentine, dental enamel, and calculus. In contrast, mummified soft tissue has not been extensively studied, limiting our understanding of what types of proteins can be recovered from these uncommonly preserved tissues. Here we use a published extraction protocol with an added bead-lysis step to increase protein recovery from mummified human tissues and LC-MS/MS to analyse a new dataset of three individuals from 18th-century Finland. We compare these data to three previously published datasets with samples from different tissue types, time periods, and taphonomic environments. Mummified soft tissue yielded a greater number of human immune proteins when compared to bone samples in general, and in particular when compared to archaeological bone. Overall, this study highlights the potential of soft tissue proteomics combined with more traditional methods for bioarchaeological research of disease and human-pathogen interactions.


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Funding information in the publication
The sampling and the archaeological documentation of the crypt were conducted under the research permit MV/69/05.04.01.02/2021 granted by the Finnish Heritage Agency. SP was supported by Finnish Cultural Foundation.


Last updated on 21/05/2026 07:20:17 AM