Paper fragments from the Tibetan Samye Monastery: Clues for an unusual sizing recipe implying wheat starch and milk in early Tibetan papermaking

•Direct dating of ancient Tibetan paper fragments by 14C radiocarbon dating.•First application of proteomics in ancient Asian handmade paper analysis.•First identification of chemical profiles of Stellera chamaejasme fiber in hand papermaking.•First micro-invasive analysis of ancient Tibetan paper fragments by multidisciplinary techniques.•How proteomics enlightens a unique ancient sizing recipes using starch-milk of ancient Tibetan papermaking.