Permafrost preservation reveals proteomic evidence for yak milk consumption in the 13th century
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Wilkin, Shevan
Bayarsaikhan, Jamsranjav
Ramsoe, Abigail
Clark, Julia
Byambadorj, Batsuren
Vanderwarf, Sandra
Vanwezer, Nils
Haruda, Ashleigh
Fernandes, Ricardo
Miller, Bryan
Boivin, Nicole
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Domesticated yaks endure as iconic symbols of high-altitude frozen landscapes, where herding communities depend on their high-fat milk, transport, dung, and natural fibers. While there is established proteomic evidence for ancient consumption of ruminant and horse milk in the mountains and steppes of northern Eurasia, yak dairy products have yet to be detected. Yak domestication and the species’ dispersal from Tibet into the mountainous zones to the north are also poorly resolved due to a paucity of zooarchaeological data. To examine the potential of paleoproteomics to shed light on domesticated yak in Mongolia, we analyzed human dental calculus from Mongol era elite individuals recovered from permafrost burials in Khovsgol province, where people continue to herd yak to this day. We report the first evidence for yak dairy consumption, linked to local resource control. In addition, we confirm a large diversity of recovered whey, curd, tissue, and blood proteins, likely reflecting the excellent preservation conditions found at permafrost sites.
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Communications Biology
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6
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© The Author(s) 2023. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
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Archaeological science
Proteomics and intermolecular interactions (excl. medical proteomics)
Biological sciences
Biomedical and clinical sciences
Science & Technology
Life Sciences & Biomedicine
Biology
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Life Sciences & Biomedicine - Other Topics
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Miller, ARV; Wilkin, S; Bayarsaikhan, J; Ramsoe, A; Clark, J; Byambadorj, B; Vanderwarf, S; Vanwezer, N; Haruda, A; Fernandes, R; Miller, B; Boivin, N, Permafrost preservation reveals proteomic evidence for yak milk consumption in the 13th century, Communications Biology, 2023, 6, pp. 351