IMMUNOASSAYS FOR IDENTIFICATION OF BLOOD RESIDUES ON ARCHAEOLOGICAL ARTIFACTS

A PRIMARY GOAL OF FIELD ARCHEOLOGY IS TO RECONSTRUCT ECOLOGICAL, ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL, AND DIETARY ASPECTS OF PREHISTORIC CULTURES. TOWARD THAT END, MODERN ARCHEOLOGY HAS BORROWED TECHNICAL ADVANCES FROM SEVERAL SCIENTIFIC DISCIPLINES (SUCH AS IMMUNOLOGY) TO OBTAIN FIELD DATA WHICH IS UNAVAILABLE WITH CONVENTIONAL MEANS. IN A PRELIMINARY EFFORT CONDUCTED IN A COLLABORATION BETWEEN BABCO AND RESEARCHERS IN THE DEPARTMENT OF ANTHROPOLOGY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH, ANTIBODIES SPECIFIC FOR HEMOGLOBINS FOR SEVERAL SPECIES HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFULLY GENERATED. COLLABORATORS IN PITTSBURGH HAVE DEVELOPED A NITROCELLULOSE-BINDING ENZYME IMMUNOASSAY (EIA) USING THESE ANTIBODIES WHICH APPEARS TO BE USEFUL FOR IDENTIFYING THE SPECIES OF ORIGIN OF BLOOD RESIDUES ON ARCHEOLOGICAL SAMPLES. IN THE EFFORTS PROPOSED IN THIS PROJECT THE RESEARCHERS INTEND TO GENERATE THREE GROUPS OF SPECIES SPECIFIC ANTIBODIES WHICH SHOULD BE OF USE IN ANSWERING QUESTIONS OF CURRENT ARCHEOLOGICAL DEBATE.