On The Origin Of Us

Palaeoproteomics, a new technology that studies the proteins of ancient remains, is shaking up history. Not only can we now peer further back in time, but the technique is also letting us see our past in a new way…

- Andy Ridgway

Ancient DNA teased out from the fossilised bones and teeth of human species has transformed what we know about our ancestors. Over the past two decades, analysis of genetic material has not only revealed new human species, but it’s also allowed archaeologists to recreate what our ancestors looked like, thousands of years after they went extinct. But it can’t give us the whole story, because DNA is fragile – it breaks down over time to the point where its code becomes unintelligible. This has meant that many ancient bones can’t be analysed genetically, therefore much of the human family tree has remained hidden from view. But over the past few years, new insights into our ancient ancestors have come from the proteins locked inside fossilised remains. Proteins can survive much longer than DNA, and advances in lab techniques, such as mass spectrometry, have increased researchers’ ability to detect and characterise tiny amounts of them.

Most promising of all is ‘shotgun proteomics’, a technique that creates a profile of all the proteins inside a fossilised bone or tooth. These ‘protein fingerprints’ have already proven their ability to identify which species of ancient human fossilised bones belonged to, even when DNA evidence has been lost. It means we’re on the cusp of a ‘palaeoproteomics’ revolution that promises to provide an unprecedented view of who our ancient relatives were and how they lived.

Digging deeper into the Denisovans