Proteomics for Silks: Identify and Distinguish B. mori and Other Species

Summary

Silk fibre generally known is made from a species called Bombyx mori, which was domesticated about 2,000 years ago in China. This is reared by human and the process is called sericulture. However there are other wild silk species that are not domesticated but still used in textile making. In an archaeological context, the proof of sericulture could be an index of the cultural and technological development of a location: it implies that there was a developed economy to import or produce silk—and in latter case also had the knowledge and technology to do so. To know what it is and where it came from is an integral part of the process. However, so far in textile analysis, identification of different species of silks has not been attempted due to the limitation of knowledge and method. Thus in study, it aims to adopt proteomics technique to identify and distinguish B.mori and other wild silks, even from historical and archaeological samples. The results from peptide identification using LC-MS/MS and MALDI-TOF from 7 different species of silks were promising. This would suggest a solution to the current disputes over early silk findings and the settlement of silk-making industry and technology.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)   •
• Proteins in Play: The Application of Ancient Proteins to the Study of Diet, Disease, Culture, and Evolution

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 16318