ESR 4: Protein survival in charred ‘foodcrusts’: insights into Mesolithic container technology (York/Copenhagen)

image of Jan Dekker

Jan Dekker

My Bachelor thesis aimed to study the raw material selection of osseous artefacts from Mesolithic Doggerland and Châtelperronian France using ZooMS. 

My PhD Project

My PhD project focuses on optimising the extraction of proteins from food crusts found on Mesolithic pottery from Denmark and what this can tell us about dietary practices, both relating to the Danish Mesolithic in particular and the study of diet using food crust proteins in general. 

CV

I obtained my Bachelor’s degree in Archaeology from Leiden University. I continued my studies at Leiden, completing a Research Master in Archaeology, focusing on the use of the bone protein osteocalcin as a quantitative biomarker for non-specific stress in human remains using LC-MS/MS and MALDI-MSI. 

Publications

Dekker, J., V. SInet-Mathiot, M. Spithoven, B. Smit, A. Wilcke, F. Welker, A. Verpoorte and M. Soressi, 2021. Human and cervid osseous materials used for barbed point manufacture in Mesolithic Doggerland. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 35.

Van Gijn, A., A. Verbaas, J. Dekker, T. Feisrami, N. de Koning, M. Spithoven, T. Timmer and F. Vernon. Studying the life history of vessels. Creating a reference collection for microwear studies of pottery, in: A. van Gijn, J. Fries-Knoblach and P. Stockhammer (eds), Pots and practices. Leiden: Sidestone Press, 65-105. 

Supervisor

Jessica Hendy (UoY)

Co-supervisor

Matthew Collins (UCPH)