Studies in Anthropological Metabolomic and Microbial Approaches

Abstract

Human biology is shaped by layers of interacting biomolecules, from genes to proteins and small molecules called metabolites. These molecules are crucial participants in biochemical reactions, representing biological information within and above the genome. Investigating the system of small molecules (the metabolome) offers deep inquiries into the interplay between human health, biology, behavior, and the environment. Anthropological interest in these small molecules is growing, but more work is needed to integrate metabolomics within anthropology. In this spirit, this dissertation applies metabolomics approaches with mass spectrometry to address anthropological questions. Chapter one provides a background over mass spectrometry, metabolomics, and anthropological engagement with these approaches. From there, chapter two directly applies mass spectrometry-based metabolomics to study human fecal metabolomes of individuals practicing varying lifeways from Africa and the Americas, revealing key chemical components to the human gut. Next, chapter three investigates mouse metabolites modulated by gut microbes responding to three high-fiber high-fat diets, revealing personalized health and biological responses to dietary shifts. Chapter four then applies mass spectrometry-based metabolomics to preserved residues found in archaeological contexts by analyzing plant and dietary materials relevant to archaeological communities. We discuss new developed methods to analyze these samples, report plant molecules associated with these samples, and detail plans to make these data publicly available for archaeologists and other scholars to integrate into their analyses, improving results generated from these archaeological samples. Together, these three projects explore novel methods of integrating these metabolomic approaches and data into anthropological investigations of past and present human health, behavior, and biology.