Middle Pleistocene ecology and Neanderthal subsistence: Insights from stable isotope analyses in Payre (Ardèche, southeastern France)

Ecker, Michaela; Bocherens, Hervé; Julien, Marie-Anne; Rivals, Florent; Raynal, Jean‐Paul; Moncel, Marie‐Hélène

doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2013.06.013

Cited by 63 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…and to track food transitions . In past populations, stable isotope analyses were first applied to detect the consumption of maize among prehistoric North American groups, and have since provided ample evidence for specific dietary adaptations, such as the high meat consumption among Neanderthals, or the consumption of C 4 foods by some species of Australopithecus …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Carbon and nitrogen isotopic signatures of hair, nail, and breath from tropical African human populations

Correia

Foley

O’Connell

et al. 2019

Rapid Comm Mass Spectrometry

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Rationale: Stable isotopic analyses are increasingly used to study the diets of past and present human populations. Yet, the carbon and nitrogen isotopic data of modern human diets collected so far are biased towards Europe and North America.Here, we address this gap by reporting on the dietary isotopic signatures of six tropical African communities: El Molo, Turkana (Kerio), Luhya (Webuye), Luhya (Port Victoria), and Luo (Port Victoria) from Kenya, and Baka from Cameroon;representing four subsistence strategies: fishing, pastoralism, agriculturalism, and hunter-gatherer. Methods:We used an elemental analyser coupled in continuous-flow mode to an isotope ratio mass spectrometer to measure the carbon and nitrogen isotopic ratios of hair (n = 134) and nail (n = 80) and the carbon isotopic ratios of breath (n = 184) from these communities, as well as the carbon and nitrogen isotopic ratios of some food samples from the Kenyan communities. Results:We expand on the known range of δ 13 C values in human hair through the hunter-gatherer Baka, with a diet based on C 3 plants, and through the agriculturalist Luhya (Webuye), with a diet based on C 4 plants. In addition, we found that the consumption of fish from East African lakes is difficult to detect isotopically due to the combined effects of high nitrogen isotopic ratios of plants and the low nitrogen isotopic ratios of fish. Finally, we found that some of the communities studied are markedly changing their diets through increasing sedentism and urbanisation. Conclusions:Our findings contribute substantially to the understanding of the environmental, demographic, and economic dynamics that affect the dietary landscape of different tropical populations of Africa. These results highlight the importance of studying a broader sample of human populations and their diet, with a focus on their precise contextfrom both isotopic and more general anthropological perspectives.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Carbon and nitrogen isotopic signatures of hair, nail, and breath from tropical African human populations

Correia

Foley

O’Connell

et al. 2019

Rapid Comm Mass Spectrometry

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show abstract

“…Major progress has been made in Neanderthal dietary reconstructions by the combination of stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes [2]–[4]. However, since these data only reflect the principal sources of protein intake, the role of plants is underestimated and Neanderthals continue to be pictured as top-level carnivores.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Neanderthal Meal: A New Perspective Using Faecal Biomarkers

et al. 2014

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Neanderthal dietary reconstructions have, to date, been based on indirect evidence and may underestimate the significance of plants as a food source. While zooarchaeological and stable isotope data have conveyed an image of Neanderthals as largely carnivorous, studies on dental calculus and scattered palaeobotanical evidence suggest some degree of contribution of plants to their diet. However, both views remain plausible and there is no categorical indication of an omnivorous diet. Here we present direct evidence of Neanderthal diet using faecal biomarkers, a valuable analytical tool for identifying dietary provenance. Our gas chromatography-mass spectrometry results from El Salt (Spain), a Middle Palaeolithic site dating to ca. 50,000 yr. BP, represents the oldest positive identification of human faecal matter. We show that Neanderthals, like anatomically modern humans, have a high rate of conversion of cholesterol to coprostanol related to the presence of required bacteria in their guts. Analysis of five sediment samples from different occupation floors suggests that Neanderthals predominantly consumed meat, as indicated by high coprostanol proportions, but also had significant plant intake, as shown by the presence of 5β-stigmastanol. This study highlights the applicability of the biomarker approach in Pleistocene contexts as a provider of direct palaeodietary information and supports the opportunity for further research into cholesterol metabolism throughout human evolution.

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“…Based on analyses of animal remains [35], carbon and nitrogen isotopes, and energy requirement estimations [36], some studies have concluded that Neanderthal diets were more narrowly focused than those of modern humans on medium- and large-sized animals, with very little contribution from plants. For example, isotope analyses of Neanderthal remains from Marillac, France [37], Payre, France [38], Okladnikov Cave, Siberia [39], and sites along the central and southeastern Mediterranean coast of Iberia [26] have concluded that Neanderthals obtained most of their dietary protein from medium- and large-sized herbivores. Such studies generally admit that “these analyses cannot rule out plant consumption because of their methodological limitations” but still take the position that “Neanderthals did not regularly consume plant protein,” and while “there is evidence that some Neanderthal groups in certain areas … may have had a wider diet that included plants and smaller animals, this pattern is not very widespread” [26].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evidence for the Paleoethnobotany of the Neanderthal: A Review of the Literature

Shipley

Kindscher

2016

Scientifica

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Our perception of our closest human relatives, the Neanderthals, has evolved in the last few decades from brutish ape-men to intelligent archaic human peoples. Our understanding and appreciation of their cultural sophistication has only recently extended to their diet. Only within the last few years, with new techniques and a shift in focus, have we begun to truly investigate and understand the role of plants in their diet and culture. The more we learn about Neanderthals, the more we realize that biological and cultural distinctions between them and us were relatively small. Given that we coexisted and likely interacted with them for thousands of years, the more we learn about them, the better we may understand our own past. In that light, we review the current evidence, derived from such sources as plant remains (e.g., starch, pollen, phytoliths, and seeds) in soil and dental calculus, dental and tool wear, coprolites, and genetics, for Neanderthal's nutritional, medicinal, and ritual use of plants, which includes 61 different taxa from 26 different plant families found at 17 different archaeological sites. Further, we updated and standardized botanical nomenclature from many sources published over many decades to provide a more stable foundation for future work.

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Middle Pleistocene ecology and Neanderthal subsistence: Insights from stable isotope analyses in Payre (Ardèche, southeastern France)

Cited by 63 publications

References 51 publications

Carbon and nitrogen isotopic signatures of hair, nail, and breath from tropical African human populations

Carbon and nitrogen isotopic signatures of hair, nail, and breath from tropical African human populations

The Neanderthal Meal: A New Perspective Using Faecal Biomarkers

Evidence for the Paleoethnobotany of the Neanderthal: A Review of the Literature

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