An Ancient Residue Metabolomics-Based Method to Distinguish Use of Closely Related Plant Species in Ancient Pipes

Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences
Korey J BrownsteinDavid R Gang

Abstract

Residues from ancient artifacts can help identify which plant species were used for their psychoactive properties, providing important information regarding the deep-time co-evolutionary relationship between plants and humans. However, relying on the presence or absence of one or several biomarkers has limited the ability to confidently connect residues to particular plants. We describe a comprehensive metabolomics-based approach that can distinguish closely related species and provide greater confidence in species use determinations. An ~1430-year-old pipe from central Washington State not only contained nicotine, but also had strong evidence for the smoking of Nicotiana quadrivalvis and Rhus glabra, as opposed to several other species in this pre-contact pipe. Analysis of a post-contact pipe suggested use of different plants, including the introduced trade tobacco, Nicotiana rustica. Ancient residue metabolomics provides a new frontier in archaeo-chemistry, with greater precision to investigate the evolution of drug use and similar plant-human co-evolutionary dynamics.

References

Mar 3, 2005·Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry·Xiaoqiang MaDavid R Gang
Jun 7, 2006·Mass Spectrometry Reviews·Lutz AlderBärbel Vieth
Apr 30, 2008·Plant Methods·Do Yup Lee, Oliver Fiehn
Nov 30, 2011·Plant & Cell Physiology·Farit Mochamad AfendiShigehiko Kanaya
Sep 16, 2015·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Patricia L CrownKyle Woodson
May 16, 2018·Nucleic Acids Research·Jasmine ChongJianguo Xia
Oct 31, 2018·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Shannon TushinghamDavid R Gang
Nov 1, 2017·Metabolomics : Official Journal of the Metabolomic Society·Korey J BrownsteinDavid R Gang

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