Yimin Yang

The spread of economic botany along the Silk Road: case study of pea and sesame products through proteomics.

Yuquanlu 19A, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China

Astana necropolis is the public graveyard of the ancient oasis kingdom Gaochang (5—7 century AD) located in Turpan region, Northwestern China, a prominent trade hub along the Silk Road. Dry and hot desert climate of Turpan region supported excellent preservation of organic materials. In this study, some light yellow powder from a cosmetic case and oil residues from the lamps have been analyzed by proteomics to identify the biological origin and manufacture technology information in combination with other techniques. The results showed that the powder inside the cosmetic case is made of pea and dairy products, which should be “Zaodou”, a kind of washing material in bathing according to ancient records. The analysis of oil residues from eight lamps dated by 6th to 8th centuries indicated sesame oil was used beside ruminant (mostly, sheep) fat, cattle ghee. Pea and sesame are important economic botany in China, which were not domesticated in China and should be introduced from the Central Asia. Although both plants might be recorded in historic records of Han Dynasty (202BC-AD220), there is still some debates about the reliability of ancient written records due to the lack of image evidence. Thus, the chemical analysis provides the latest time of pea and sesame in China. Moreover, proteomics has great potential to analyze plant products.