Project description
Mass spectrometry-based analysis in hominin evolutionary research
Recent discoveries have resulted in a new picture of the complex evolutionary relationships between Neanderthals, Denisovans and modern humans. In addition to Homo erectus and Homo antecessor, Pleistocene hominin populations now include Denisovans, Homo floresiensis, Homo luzonensis, Homo naledi and, possibly, Homo heidelbergensis. Palaeoproteomics is the application of mass spectrometry to the study of ancient proteomes, and has recently emerged as an alternative biomolecular approach to ancient DNA research to provide molecular evidence on hominin evolutionary relationships. The EU-funded PROSPER project will develop novel sampling and extraction protocols for ancient skeletal proteomes, minimising the destructive sampling of unique hominin fossils, opening new avenues of research in palaeoanthropology.
Objective
A new picture of our own ancestral past has emerged through the elucidation of the complex evolutionary relationships between Neanderthals, Denisovans, and modern humans. How preceding hominin populations fit into their story is currently unknown, but it has become clear that Pleistocene hominin populations were highly diverse. In addition to Homo erectus and Homo antecessor, they also include recently described populations such as the Denisovans, Homo floresiensis, Homo luzonensis, and Homo naledi, and previously known but elusive populations such as Homo heidelbergensis. These hominins were present across Africa and Eurasia, with large portions of the hominin fossil record far beyond the reach of ancient DNA research. It is therefore difficult to understand the distribution in time and space of these hominin populations, and elucidate their relation to the emergence of novel hominin behaviours evident in the archaeological record, using traditional approaches. Palaeoproteomic analysis of skeletal proteomes has recently emerged as a potential alternative biomolecular approach across the Pleistocene, and can provide independent molecular evidence on hominin evolutionary relationships on a global scale. PROSPER will make this opportunity a reality by developing novel sampling and extraction protocols for ancient skeletal proteomes, thereby minimizing the destructive sampling of highly unique, often fragmentary, hominin fossils, while simultaneously maximizing the proteomic data generated. With these methods available, PROSPER will generate unique insights into the evolutionary relationships between Pleistocene hominins across their African and Eurasian distribution, including the emergence and dispersal of our own species, Homo sapiens. PROSPER will be able to settle phylogenetic debates on hominin population relationships in a unique, novel manner, and can be expected to open up new avenues of research in palaeoanthropology.
Fields of science
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Funding Scheme
ERC-STG - Starting GrantHost institution
1165 Kobenhavn
Denmark