The challenge of extracting proteins from potteries

Proteomic approaches based on mass spectrometry (MS) have been used successfully in the recent past for the molecular characterisation of several proteins-containing art works and archaeological objects. However, there are still relatively few examples of the successful recovery and identification of proteins from archaeological pottery. This is mostly because ceramics often contain a much lower amount of proteinaceous material, that is also highly contaminated and degraded, thus making proteomic analyses quite challenging. In the attempt to address this issue, we herein report efforts in developing new methods for the detection and characterisation of protein residues deposited in pottery, with results in the analysis of archaeological samples from Pani Loriga as case studies.