Amino Acids and Proteins in Fossil Biominerals An Introduction for Archaeologists and Palaeontologists

About this book

Amino Acids and Proteins in Fossil Biominerals is an authoritative guide to the patterns of survival and degradation of ancient biomolecules in the fossil record. The author brings together new research in biomineralization and ancient proteins to describe mechanisms of protein diagenesis.

The book draws on the author's experiences as well as current information from three research fields: geochemistry, archaeology and Quaternary sciences. The author examines the history of the study of ancient proteins, from the dating of Quaternary biominerals to the present advances in shotgun proteomics, and discusses their applications across archaeology, geology and evolutionary biology.

This important guide:
- Explores the main components of biominerals
- Describes the breakdown of proteins in fossils
- Reviews the applications of ancient protein studies

Written for students and researchers of biomolecular archaeology and palaeontology, Amino Acids and Proteins in Fossil Biominerals provides a cross-disciplinary guide to the proteins responsible for the formation of biominerals and to the survival of biomolecules in the archaeological and palaeontological record.

Contents

Preface vii
Acknowledgements ix

1 Biominerals and the Fossil Record 1
2 Mechanisms of Degradation and Survival 23
3 Proteins in Fossil Biominerals 43
4 Chiral Amino Acids: Geochronology and Other Applications 71
5 Ancient Protein Sequences 113

Index 127

Customer Reviews

Biography

Beatrice Demarchi, PhD, is a biomolecular archaeologist in the Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Turin, Turin, Italy.