Isotopic evidence for dietary ecology of late Neandertals in North-Western Europe

Wißing, Christoph; Rougier, Hélène; Crevecœur, Isabelle; Germonpré, Mietje; Naito, Yuichi I.; Semal, Patrick; Bocherens, Hervé

doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2015.09.091

Cited by 87 publications

(50 citation statements)

References 90 publications

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“…Isotopic analyses performed on the collagen of the femur revealed considerably lower δ 13 C and δ 15 N values than those reported for late Neanderthals from western and central Europe (Supplementary Table 1 and Supplementary Fig. 1)18. Moreover, collagen from two faunal remains recovered from the same stratigraphic unit of HST was analysed.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 85%

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Deeply divergent archaic mitochondrial genome provides lower time boundary for African gene flow into Neanderthals

et al. 2017

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Ancient DNA is revealing new insights into the genetic relationship between Pleistocene hominins and modern humans. Nuclear DNA indicated Neanderthals as a sister group of Denisovans after diverging from modern humans. However, the closer affinity of the Neanderthal mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) to modern humans than Denisovans has recently been suggested as the result of gene flow from an African source into Neanderthals before 100,000 years ago. Here we report the complete mtDNA of an archaic femur from the Hohlenstein–Stadel (HST) cave in southwestern Germany. HST carries the deepest divergent mtDNA lineage that splits from other Neanderthals ∼270,000 years ago, providing a lower boundary for the time of the putative mtDNA introgression event. We demonstrate that a complete Neanderthal mtDNA replacement is feasible over this time interval even with minimal hominin introgression. The highly divergent HST branch is indicative of greater mtDNA diversity during the Middle Pleistocene than in later periods.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 85%

“…2). The ecological background of the HST femur and deer specimens are, therefore, equivalent and indicate a more forested and closed environment compared to the habitat of late Neanderthals in northwestern Europe1821.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 98%

Deeply divergent archaic mitochondrial genome provides lower time boundary for African gene flow into Neanderthals

et al. 2017

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“…Models of Middle Paleolithic dietary ecology suggest that they hunted predominantly medium and large prime-age fauna with only infrequent use of small mammals, and aquatic and plant foods. Nitrogen stable isotope ratios indicate that they were at the top of the terrestrial food web and obtained most of their protein from medium and large-sized herbivores (Richards et al, 2000;Lee-Thorp and Sponheimer, 2006;Richards and Trinkaus, 2009;Fiorenza et al, 2015;Wißing et al, 2015). Some zooarchaeologists have argued that this diet was stable over time, with little evidence of a chronological trend towards more diverse resource use (Stiner et al, 2000;Stiner, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dental calculus indicates widespread plant use within the stable Neanderthal dietary niche

Power

Salazar‐García

Rubini

et al. 2018

Journal of Human Evolution

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The ecology of Neanderthals is a pressing question in the study of hominin evolution. Diet appears to have played a prominent role in their adaptation to Eurasia. Based on isotope and zooarchaeological studies, Neanderthal diet has been reconstructed as heavily meat-based and generally similar across different environments. This image persists, despite recent studies suggesting more plant use and more variation. However, we have only a fragmentary picture of their dietary ecology, and how it may have varied among habitats, because we lack broad and environmentally representative information about their use of plants and other foods. To address the problem, we examined the plant microremains in Neanderthal dental calculus from five archaeological sites representing a variety of environments from the northern Balkans, and the western, central and eastern Mediterranean. The recovered microremains revealed the consumption of a variety of non-animal foods, including starchy plants. Using a modeling approach, we explored the relationships among microremains and environment, while controlling for chronology. In the process, we compared the effectiveness of various diversity metrics and their shortcomings for studying microbotanical remains, which are often morphologically redundant for identification. We developed Minimum Botanical Units as a new way of estimating how many plant types or parts are present in a microbotanical sample. In contrast to some previous work, we found no evidence that plant use is confined to the southern-most areas of Neanderthal distribution. Although interpreting the ecogeographic variation is limited by the incomplete preservation of dietary microremains, it is clear that plant exploitation was a widespread and deeply rooted Neanderthal subsistence strategy, even if they were predominately game hunters. Given the limited dietary variation across Neanderthal range in time and space in both plant and animal food exploitation, we argue that vegetal consumption was a feature of a generally static dietary niche.

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“…Interestingly, the European Neanderthals, who have been promoted in the literature as top carnivores (based on isotopic studies, tooth wear studies, faunal remains, and a plethora of optimization and ecological reasoning; e.g., Stiner 1994Stiner , 2002Stiner , 2006Wißing et al, 2016), do not exhibit a similar organizational behavior. The frequencies of armatures in European lithic assemblages are generally low (e.g., Shea 2006, 2009 andreferences therein;Villa et al 2009) and their identification as such often relies on unsupported assumptions (Rots and Plisson 2013;and see Rots et al 2016).…”

Section: An Organizational System?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Are Lithics and Fauna a Match Made in (Prehistoric) Heaven?

Hovers

Belfer‐Cohen

2018

J Paleo Arch

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Lithic artifacts and animal bones form the bulk of the material remains of the Paleolithic. This has led archeologists to interpret these two types of finds as tethered components of subsistence systems. Differences observed through time and space in the lithic repertoire were considered as functional adjustments, designed to maximize gains from a diverse faunal resource base. While we do not challenge the general notion that lithic artifacts were used (also) for exploiting faunal (and other) resources, we note that significant lithic technological breakthroughs, clearly directed towards higher efficiency of procurement of faunal resources (e.g., hafting, projectile weapons), are few and far-apart in the evolution of material culture. Based on case studies from the Levantine Middle Paleolithic (MP), we question the degree to which fauna-based subsistence determined lithic variability. Current research focus on functional relationship between lithics and fauna may preclude consideration of other causes for lithic typo-technological diversity. These may include technological traditions, differences in cultural transmission processes, or the level of within-and between-group connectivity, various combinations of which may have operated in the MP.

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Isotopic evidence for dietary ecology of late Neandertals in North-Western Europe

Cited by 87 publications

References 90 publications

Deeply divergent archaic mitochondrial genome provides lower time boundary for African gene flow into Neanderthals

Deeply divergent archaic mitochondrial genome provides lower time boundary for African gene flow into Neanderthals

Dental calculus indicates widespread plant use within the stable Neanderthal dietary niche

Are Lithics and Fauna a Match Made in (Prehistoric) Heaven?

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