Michael Buckley

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About

Michael Buckley is a leading figure in biomolecular archaeology and palaeoproteomics, whose work has revolutionized the way we identify and interpret fragmentary animal remains from archaeological and palaeontological sites. His primary research focuses on the development and application of ZooMS (Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry), a technique that uses collagen peptide mass fingerprinting to rapidly and cost-effectively identify species from bones and teeth that are too degraded for morphological analysis. Buckley’s major contribution lies in advancing ZooMS from a specialist method into a high-throughput, automated tool. His landmark papers on "AutoZooMS" (2023, 2024) detail the integration of robotics into this process, dramatically increasing sample processing capacity and enabling large-scale, systematic species identification. This innovation has been pivotal for projects like the analysis of thousands of remains from Grotte Mandrin, France, where it has helped reconstruct past ecosystems and hominin behaviors. With over 100 publications and thousands of citations, Buckley’s work has been cited by peers in archaeology, evolutionary biology, and conservation science, cementing his reputation as a pioneer in non-destructive molecular identification. His achievements include leading the development of open-access protocols and databases, making ZooMS accessible to the global research community.