Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 11, 2026

Mechanical Separation and Protein Solubilization of the Outer and Inner Perivitelline Sublayers from Hen's Eggs
Published on: January 27, 2021
Dating pleistocene archeological sites by protein diagenesis in ostrich eggshell
Abstract:
Eggshells of the African ostrich (Struthio camelus), ubiquitous in archeological sites in Africa, have been shown by laboratory simulation experiments to retain their indigenous organic matrix residues during diagenesis far better than any other calcified tissue yet studied. The rate of L-isoleucine epimerization to D-alloisoleucine follows reversible first-order kinetics and has been calibrated for local temperature effects and used to estimate the age range of stratified archeological sites. Age estimates are consistent with radiocarbon dates from several stratified archeological sites. With adequate calibration, this technique can provide accurate ages to within 10 to 15 percent for strata deposited within the last 200,000 years in the tropics and the last 1,000,000 years in colder regions such as China.
Related Concept Videos
The Fossil Record
Conservation of Protein Domains Over Different Proteins
A limited set of protein domains often duplicate and recombine during evolution. These domains can be organized in different combinations to form...
Diversity of Archaea II
Diversity of Archaea III
Diversity of Archaea IV
Conservation of Protein Domains
A limited set of protein domains often duplicate and recombine during evolution. These domains can be organized in different combinations to form...

