A conscious rethink: Why is brain tissue commonly preserved in the archaeological record? Commentary on: Petrone P, Pucci P, Niola M, et al. Heat-induced brain vitrification from the Vesuvius eruption in C.E. 79. N Engl J Med 2020;382:383-4. DOI: 10.1056/NEJMc1909867
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A conscious rethink : Why is brain tissue commonly preserved in the archaeological record? Commentary on: Petrone P, Pucci P, Niola M, et al. Heat-induced brain vitrification from the Vesuvius eruption in C.E. 79. N Engl J Med 2020;382:383-4. DOI: 10.1056/NEJMc1909867. / Morton-Hayward, Alexandra L.; Thompson, Tim; Thomas-Oates, Jane E.; Buckley, Stephen; Petzold, Axel; Ramsoe, Abigail; O'Connor, Sonia; Collins, Matthew J.
In: STAR: Science & Technology of Archaeological Research, Vol. 6, No. 1, 2020, p. 87-95.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - A conscious rethink
T2 - Why is brain tissue commonly preserved in the archaeological record? Commentary on: Petrone P, Pucci P, Niola M, et al. Heat-induced brain vitrification from the Vesuvius eruption in C.E. 79. N Engl J Med 2020;382:383-4. DOI: 10.1056/NEJMc1909867
AU - Morton-Hayward, Alexandra L.
AU - Thompson, Tim
AU - Thomas-Oates, Jane E.
AU - Buckley, Stephen
AU - Petzold, Axel
AU - Ramsoe, Abigail
AU - O'Connor, Sonia
AU - Collins, Matthew J.
PY - 2020
Y1 - 2020
N2 - Brain tissue is ubiquitous in the archaeological record. Multiple, independent studies report the finding of black, resinous or shiny brain tissue, and Petrone et al. [2020 "Heat-induced Brain Vitrification from the Vesuvius Eruption in C.E. 79."N Engl J Med. 382: 383-384; doi:10.1056/NEJMc1909867] raise the intriguing prospect of a role for vitrification in the preservation of ancient biomolecules. However, Petrone et al. (2020) have not made their raw data available, and no detailed laboratory or analytical methodology is offered. Issues of contamination and misinterpretation hampered a decade of research in biomolecular archaeology, such that addressing these sources of bias and facilitating validation of specious findings has become both routine and of paramount importance in the discipline. We argue that the evidence they present does not support their conclusion of heat-induced vitrification of human brain tissue, and that future studies should share palaeoproteomic data in an open access repository to facilitate comparative analysis of the recovery of ancient proteins and patterns of their degradation.[GRAPHICS].
AB - Brain tissue is ubiquitous in the archaeological record. Multiple, independent studies report the finding of black, resinous or shiny brain tissue, and Petrone et al. [2020 "Heat-induced Brain Vitrification from the Vesuvius Eruption in C.E. 79."N Engl J Med. 382: 383-384; doi:10.1056/NEJMc1909867] raise the intriguing prospect of a role for vitrification in the preservation of ancient biomolecules. However, Petrone et al. (2020) have not made their raw data available, and no detailed laboratory or analytical methodology is offered. Issues of contamination and misinterpretation hampered a decade of research in biomolecular archaeology, such that addressing these sources of bias and facilitating validation of specious findings has become both routine and of paramount importance in the discipline. We argue that the evidence they present does not support their conclusion of heat-induced vitrification of human brain tissue, and that future studies should share palaeoproteomic data in an open access repository to facilitate comparative analysis of the recovery of ancient proteins and patterns of their degradation.[GRAPHICS].
KW - Brain tissue
KW - soft tissue preservation
KW - vitrification
KW - proteins
KW - lipids
KW - palaeoproteomics
KW - MULTIPLE-SCLEROSIS
KW - HUMAN REMAINS
KW - SOFT-TISSUE
KW - PROTEIN
KW - DEATH
KW - MUMMIFICATION
KW - PHOSPHORYLATION
KW - DECOMPOSITION
KW - PYROLYSIS
KW - CHARCOAL
U2 - 10.1080/20548923.2020.1815398
DO - 10.1080/20548923.2020.1815398
M3 - Journal article
VL - 6
SP - 87
EP - 95
JO - Science and Technology of Archaeological Research
JF - Science and Technology of Archaeological Research
SN - 2054-8923
IS - 1
ER -
ID: 250546865