The article you provided is a fascinating study on a groundbreaking method for extracting and identifying proteins from ancient human soft tissues. Here’s a rewritten version, maintaining the core ideas but improving clarity, structure, and style:

Unlocking the Secrets of Ancient Human Remains: A New Method for Accessing Proteins in Soft Tissues

A team of researchers at the University of Oxford has developed a revolutionary method that could soon unlock the vast repository of biological information held in the proteins of ancient human soft tissues. This discovery, published in PLOS ONE, opens up a new era for palaeobiological discovery and promises to vastly expand our understanding of ancient diet, disease, environment, and evolutionary relationships.

Up until now, studies on ancient proteins have been confined largely to mineralized tissues such as bones and teeth. However, the internal organs – which are a far richer source of biological information – have remained inaccessible due to the lack of an established protocol for their analysis. This new method changes that.

A key hurdle was finding an effective way to disrupt cell membranes to liberate proteins. The team discovered that urea successfully broke open cells and released proteins within. After extraction, the proteins were then separated using liquid chromatography and identified using mass spectrometry. By coupling this step with high-field asymmetric-waveform ion mobility spectrometry (which separates ions based on how they move in an electric field), the researchers found that they could increase the number of proteins identified by up to 40%.

This technique makes it possible to recover proteins from samples that are hard to analyze, including degraded or very complex mixtures. The team was able to identify over 1,200 ancient proteins from just 2.5 mg of sample – a feat that has never been achieved before.

Using the combined method, the researchers identified a diverse array of proteins that govern healthy brain function, reflecting the molecular complexity of the human nervous system. They also identified potential biomarkers for neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s and multiple sclerosis. This new technique opens a window on human history we haven’t looked through before.

The vast majority of human diseases – including psychiatric illness and mental health disorders – leave no marks on the bone, making them essentially invisible in the archaeological record. This discovery promises to transform our understanding of ancient human health and disease.

Senior author Professor Roman Fischer, Centre for Medicines Discovery at the University of Oxford, added: “By enabling the retrieval of protein biomarkers from ancient soft tissues, this workflow allows us to investigate pathology beyond the skeleton, transforming our ability to understand the health of past populations.”

This method has already attracted interest for its applicability to a wide range of archaeological materials and environments – from mummified remains to bog bodies, and from antibodies to peptide hormones. As Dr Christiana Scheib, Department of Zoology at the University of Cambridge, noted: “Ancient soft tissues are so rarely preserved, yet could hold such powerful information regarding evolutionary history.”

The ancient civilization of Arabia was once home to a rich and diverse culture that valued knowledge, trade, and innovation. New research has shed light on one of the most fascinating aspects of their history: the deliberate use of psychoactive and medicinal plants for therapeutic and sensorial practices nearly 2,700 years ago.

Led by Dr. Barbara Huber and Professor Marta Luciani, a team of researchers analyzed organic residues preserved inside Iron Age fumigation devices excavated at the oasis settlement of Qurayyah in northwestern Saudi Arabia. Using advanced metabolic profiling techniques, they detected characteristic harmala alkaloids from the plant Peganum harmala, also known as Syrian rue or harmal.

“This discovery represents chemical evidence for the earliest known burning of harmal not just in Arabia but globally,” says Dr. Huber, lead author of the study. “Our findings shed light on how ancient communities drew upon traditional plant knowledge and their local pharmacopeia to care for their health, purify spaces, and potentially trigger psychoactive effects.”

The integration of biomolecular analysis with archaeology has allowed researchers to identify not just what kind of plants people were using but also where, how, and why. This breakthrough has significant implications for fields such as ethnobotany, medical anthropology, heritage studies, and pharmacognosy – all concerned with the long-term relationship between humans, medicinal plants, and natural resources.

In traditional medicine and household fumigation practices today in the region, Peganum harmala is known for its antibacterial, psychoactive, and therapeutic properties. The new findings underscore its long-standing cultural and medicinal significance.

“This discovery shows the deep historical roots of traditional healing and fumigation practices in Arabia,” adds Ahmed M. Abualhassan, Heritage Commission co-director of the Qurayyah project. “We’re preserving not only objects but also the intangible cultural heritage of ancient knowledge that still holds relevance in local communities today.”

Rewritten Article:

In the highlands of Peru, two thousand years before the Inca empire rose to power, a lesser-known society known as the Chavín Phenomenon flourished. This enigmatic culture left behind a rich legacy of art, architecture, and materials that spanned modern-day Peru. Through innovative agriculture, craft production, and trade, Chavín built a growing social order and laid the foundations for hierarchical societies among the Andes’ highest peaks.

But one of their most powerful tools wasn’t farming – it was access to altered states of consciousness. A recent study has uncovered the earliest-known direct evidence of psychoactive plant use in the Peruvian Andes, shedding light on the ritualistic practices that shaped this ancient society.

Researchers from the University of Florida, Stanford University, and South American institutions discovered ancient snuff tubes carved from hollow bones at the heart of monumental stone structures at Chavín de Huántar, a prehistoric ceremonial site. By conducting chemical and microscopic analyses, they revealed traces of nicotine from wild relatives of tobacco and vilca bean residue, a hallucinogen related to DMT.

These substances were not used for personal visions but as part of tightly controlled rituals that reinforced the social hierarchy. Unlike communal hallucinogenic use common in other ancient cultures, Chavín’s rituals were exclusive, with snuff tubes found in private chambers within massive stone structures that held only a handful of participants at a time.

“Taking psychoactives was not just about seeing visions,” said Daniel Contreras, Ph.D., an anthropological archaeologist at UF and co-author of the study. “It was part of a tightly controlled ritual, likely reserved for a select few, reinforcing the social hierarchy.”

These experiences were likely profound and even terrifying, with the supernatural world feeling like a force beyond comprehension. By controlling access to these altered states, Chavín’s rulers established a potent ideology that convinced their people that their leadership was intertwined with mystical power and part of the natural order.

The study also uncovered trumpets made from conch shells and chambers seemingly designed to enhance awe-inducing musical performances. These rituals extended beyond the use of psychedelics, creating immersive experiences that reinforced belief systems and social structures.

“One of the ways that inequality was justified or naturalized was through ideology – through the creation of impressive ceremonial experiences that made people believe this whole project was a good idea,” Contreras said.

Their study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, helps solve a century-old mystery about this site. Since its first excavation over a hundred years ago, Chavín has been seen as related to both earlier, more egalitarian societies and the mountain-spanning empires ruled by powerful elites that came later.

Controlled access to mystical experiences explains this major social transition, a finding only made possible by decades of intense excavations and advanced analytical methods. As Contreras noted, “It’s exciting that ongoing excavations can be combined with cutting-edge archaeological science techniques to get us closer to understanding what it was like to live at this site.”