A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal
Assessing the recovery of immune proteins from mummified soft tissue versus archaeological bones
Authors: Paasikivi, Sofia; O'Sullivan, Ronan James; Nordfors, Ulla; Liira, Anne-Mari; Lanigan, Liam Thomas; Schuenemann, Verena J.; Wilkin, Shevan
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Publication year: 2026
Journal: Journal of Archaeological Science
Article number: 106589
Volume: 191
ISSN: 0305-4403
eISSN: 1095-9238
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2026.106589
Publication's open availability at the time of reporting: Open 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 address: https://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/523490197
Self-archived copy's licence: CC BY
Self-archived copy's version: Publisher`s PDF
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.