Lecture
High resolution mass spectrometry and chemometric approaches for analysis of archaeological food lipids
- at -
- ICM Saal 4a
- Type: Lecture
Lecture description
S. Hammann, Stuttgart/DE, A. Gabiger, Erlangen/DE, R. Vykukal, Erlangen/DE, A. Korf, Bremen/DE, M. Pitts, Exeter/UK, L. Cramp, Bristol/UK
Lipids derived from food stored or prepared in ceramic vessels can be preserved in fragments of these vessels over archaeological timescales. The analysis of these fragments and the isotopic and molecular profiling of the lipid residues provides unique insights into past dietary habits, resource use and food preparation techniques [1]. While this approach has been established several decades ago, it has largely focused on the detection and discrimination of animal derived lipids (ruminant vs. non ruminant, adipose vs. dairy, terrestrial vs. aquatic) while plants and other important resources remained largely invisible. Similarly, the common approach based on gas
chromatography coupled to flame ionisation detection and low resolution mass spectrometry (GC-MS) is limited in its ability to comprehensively assess the lipid profiles and identify unknown samples, particularly for highly complex samples and low
abundant biomarkers [2].
To address these drawbacks, we recently introduced high resolution GC-MS for the analysis of archaeological lipids. We could show that this approach not only allows the reliable and sensitive detection of low abundant cereal biomarkers [3,4], but the data can also be used for classification of different sample groups based on lipid profiles [5]. In this way characteristic compounds for certain vessel types or subsections of sites can be identified and the interpretation of archaeological residues improved significantly.
By moving archaeological lipid analysis towards sophisticated instrumentation and more refined data processing workflows, analyses can be accelerated and improved in terms of robustness and information gain. This opens the door for new research questions and project scales.
Literature:
[1] Evershed et al., Archaeometry 2008, 50, 895
[2] Vykukal et al., TrAC Trends in Analytical Chemistry 2024, 176, 117668
[3] Hammann and Cramp, Journal of Archaeological Science 2018, 93, 74
[4] Hammann et al., Nature Communications 2022, 13, 5045
[5] Korf et al, 2020, Scientific Reports 10, 767
Lipids derived from food stored or prepared in ceramic vessels can be preserved in fragments of these vessels over archaeological timescales. The analysis of these fragments and the isotopic and molecular profiling of the lipid residues provides unique insights into past dietary habits, resource use and food preparation techniques [1]. While this approach has been established several decades ago, it has largely focused on the detection and discrimination of animal derived lipids (ruminant vs. non ruminant, adipose vs. dairy, terrestrial vs. aquatic) while plants and other important resources remained largely invisible. Similarly, the common approach based on gas
chromatography coupled to flame ionisation detection and low resolution mass spectrometry (GC-MS) is limited in its ability to comprehensively assess the lipid profiles and identify unknown samples, particularly for highly complex samples and low
abundant biomarkers [2].
To address these drawbacks, we recently introduced high resolution GC-MS for the analysis of archaeological lipids. We could show that this approach not only allows the reliable and sensitive detection of low abundant cereal biomarkers [3,4], but the data can also be used for classification of different sample groups based on lipid profiles [5]. In this way characteristic compounds for certain vessel types or subsections of sites can be identified and the interpretation of archaeological residues improved significantly.
By moving archaeological lipid analysis towards sophisticated instrumentation and more refined data processing workflows, analyses can be accelerated and improved in terms of robustness and information gain. This opens the door for new research questions and project scales.
Literature:
[1] Evershed et al., Archaeometry 2008, 50, 895
[2] Vykukal et al., TrAC Trends in Analytical Chemistry 2024, 176, 117668
[3] Hammann and Cramp, Journal of Archaeological Science 2018, 93, 74
[4] Hammann et al., Nature Communications 2022, 13, 5045
[5] Korf et al, 2020, Scientific Reports 10, 767
