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Live Online Course – 3rd Edition

Proteomic Methods for Species Identification of Archaeological and Palaeontological Materials

May 19th, 21st, 26th, and 28th, 2026

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Course Palaeoproteomics and Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry (ZooMS)

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Course Overview

In this course, participants will be introduced to proteomic methods for species identification, focusing on peptide mass fingerprinting by MALDI-ToF mass spectrometry and LC-MS/MS based approaches.

During the course, participants will first be introduced to some theory with illustrative examples (both from simulated data as well as some real datasets) and will then learn how to interpret the data, both MS1 (e.g., fingerprints) and MS2 (or MS/MS ‘sequencing’ spectra) as well as how to assess their reliability.

Places are limited to 12 participants.

Programme

Introduction to ancient proteins and reasons for analysing them and the most appropriate biochemical methods to do so, relating to sample type
- Short introduction on protein structure, evolution, and ongoing investigations in zooarchaeology and palaeobiology
Learn the basics of proteomics
- Introduction to the differences between ionization techniques, mass analysers, and fragmentation methods.
- Illustration with worked examples of de novo sequencing peptides and probability-based sequence matching.
Identifying a species from a peptide mass fingerprint
- Introduction on how to identify ancient collagen fingerprints and understand the confidence levels for taxonomic assignment
- Learn the use of automated tools for identification that include machine learning, and understand their limitations
Learn to infer a species through the proteome analysis of an ancient sample
- Learn how to interpret sequence data from complex samples of unknown species
- Identify confidence levels of cross-species sequence interpretations through protein BLAST and the Ensembl Genome Browser
Summary
- Summary on the various techniques’ strengths and weaknesses, assumptions for each approach, some of the standard open-source tools available, and alternative tools currently available on R with some worked examples.

Assumed Background

Graduate or postgraduate degree in Biomedical, Life or Earth Sciences including Archaeology. Familiarity with R is highly recommended.

Software

Participants should have a recent version of R installed on their machines.

Dates & Schedule

Online live sessions on May 19th, 21st, 26th, and 28th, 2026.

From 14:00 to 18:00 (Madrid time zone).

Total course hours: 21 (16 hours of online live lessons, plus 5 hours of participants working on their own)

This course is equivalent to 1 ECTS (European Credit Transfer System) at the Life Science Zurich Graduate School. The recognition of ECTS by other institutions depends on each university or school.

Format

In the live sessions we will combine online lectures with hands-on computational exercises, in R.

Live sessions will be recorded. However, attendance to the live sessions is required to obtain the course certificate.

This course will be delivered in English.

Instructor

Dr. Michael Buckley
University of Manchester
UK

Registration Fees

Course Fee
Early bird (until March 31st, 2026):
436 €
(348.80 € for Ambassador Institutions)
Regular (after March 31st, 2026):
493 €
(394.40 € for Ambassador Institutions)
Prices include VAT.
After registration you will receive confirmation of your acceptance on the course.
Payment is not required during registration. Check discounts here.
How do I get the Ambassador Institution discount?
Registration