Some theoretical aspects of isotope paleodiet studies

Schwarcz, Henry P.

doi:10.1016/0305-4403(91)90065-w

Cited by 295 publications

(217 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…This pattern is occasionally observed in isotopic studies, and it is often interpreted as a mixing line between two food sources (43). In this case, it would indicate that the cave bears had two distinct dietary protein sources, one being plant foods and the other being animals with low ␦ 13 C and high ␦ 15 N values.…”

mentioning

confidence: 73%

Isotopic evidence for omnivory among European cave bears: Late Pleistocene Ursus spelaeus from the Peştera cu Oase, Romania

Richards

Pacher

Stiller

et al. 2008

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

101

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Previous bone collagen carbon and nitrogen isotopic studies of Late Pleistocene European cave bears (Ursus spelaeus) have shown that these bears frequently had low nitrogen isotope values, similar to those of herbivores and indicating either unusual physiology related to hibernation or a herbivorous diet. Isotopic analysis of animal bone from the Peştera cu Oase (Cave with Bones), Romania, shows that most of its cave bears had higher nitrogen isotope values than the associated herbivores and were, therefore, omnivorous. The Oase bears are securely identified as cave bears by both their morphology and DNA sequences. Although many cave bear populations may have behaved like herbivores, the Oase isotopic data demonstrate that cave bears were capable of altering their diets to become omnivores or even carnivores. These data therefore broaden the dietary profile of U. spelaeus and raise questions about the nature of the carnivore guild in Pleistocene Europe.carbon isotopes ͉ nitrogen isotopes ͉ diets ͉ ancient DNA L ate Pleistocene cave bear (Ursus spelaeus) diet and physiology is not well known, although based on skull, mandible, and tooth morphology, they have been inferred to have been largely herbivorous (1-4). Moreover, isotopic studies of central and western European cave bears have shown that, in most cases where their values are compared with herbivores and carnivores from the same site, they have ␦ 15 N values that plot with, or lower than, herbivores (Table 1). These dietary inferences are in the context of bears that had a period of dormancy, similar to modern black bears (Ursus americanus) and brown bears (Ursus arctos), given the abundance of hibernation nests in European caves. This pattern has been interpreted in several ways.Based Table 1), is that some cave bears were largely herbivorous, as are some modern bears, but that other cave bears were more carnivorous and hence exhibit ␦ 15 N values similar to those of many modern omnivorous U. arctos and U. americanus. In this interpretation, the variation in trophic level indicated by ␦ 15 N values would reflect ecological plasticity among U. spelaeus, in which they were more or less carnivorous depending on available food resources, body-size requirements, interspecific competition, seasonality, and temperature.Regardless of the cause, 86.1% of the available individual European adult cave bear ␦ 15 N values (n ϭ 101) are Ͻ6.0‰, and hence within the basically vegetarian range [the number rises to 95.6%, n ϭ 91 without Hilderbrand et al.'s (14) 10 specimens] (Table 1). In the context of this distribution of ␦ 15 N values, routine isotopic assessment of a cave bear metapodial associated with an early modern human cranium in the Late Pleistocene Peştera cu Oase, Caraş-Severin, southwestern [supporting information (SI) Text and SI Figs. 4 and 5], provided an anomalously high ␦ 15 N value of 7.8‰ (SI Table 2, Oase O34-232). To further evaluate this result and address the cause of the generally low cave bear ␦ 15 N values, we measured the isotope values of c...

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mentioning

confidence: 73%

Isotopic evidence for omnivory among European cave bears: Late Pleistocene Ursus spelaeus from the Peştera cu Oase, Romania

Richards

Pacher

Stiller

et al. 2008

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

101

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“…It is clear that they lived on terrestrial foods as main protein sources and it is reasonable that the inland Jomon hunter-gatherer adapted to the terrestrial circumstance. However, a clear correlation (r = 0.936) observed between δ 13 C and δ 15 N in human collagen suggests that they exploited two kinds of protein sources dominantly (see Figure 3), and these end-points of the regression line should suggest these two sources theoretically (Schwarcz 1991). In the case of the Tochibara site, it is possible that C 3 plants and terrestrial herbivore are suggested on one end, and marine fish and marine mammals on the other.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Radiocarbon and Stable Isotope Analyses on the Earliest Jomon Skeletons from the Tochibara Rockshelter, Nagano, Japan

Yoneda

Hirota²,

Uchida

et al. 2002

Radiocarbon

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ABSTRACT. This study presents the results of carbon and nitrogen isotopic analyses of six human skeletons excavated from the Tochibara rockshelter (Nagano, Japan). The human skeletons were reported to be accompanied by "Oshigata-mon" type pottery dating to the Earliest Jomon period (8900 BP ~ 6600 BP). A radiocarbon determination from charcoal associated with the human remains was reported to be 8650 ± 180 BP (GaK-1056). However, the depositional context of human skeletons was uncertain because they were recovered by excavations that were dug by prescribed levels. Our results indicated that these skeletons date to the Earliest Jomon period; the 14 C determinations place these remains between 8260 ± 100 BP (TERRAb030799ab38) and 8580 ± 100 BP (TERRA-b011300a35). This coincides with the archaeological evidence that these specimens are some of the oldest Jomon skeletal materials. Furthermore, δ 13 C and δ 15 N values provide evidence for the first reconstruction of the diet of an inland Earliest Jomon population. Although the distribution of data indicated a possibility that they had exploited small amounts of seafood, the isotopic data point to this group having relied heavily on a terrestrial ecosystem based on C 3 plants.

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“…El principio sobre el que se basa el análisis de la paleodieta es que los isótopos de carbono y nitrógeno son asimilados por los humanos mediante la alimentación, de tal forma que la medida de las relaciones isotópicas de los restos antropológicos recuperados en las excavaciones proporciona informaciones sobre su dieta (Schwarcz 1991;Ambrose 1993;Sealy 2001). A través del estudio del colágeno presente en los huesos es posible determinar las principales fuentes proteínicas consumidas y determinar los patrones alimentarios a largo plazo.…”

Section: La Paleodieta De Los Habitantes De Dulantziunclassified

Identidades y ajuares en las necrópolis altomedievales. Estudios isotópicos del cementerio de San Martín de Dulantzi, Álava (siglos VI-X)

Castillo¹,

Uriarte²,

Lorenzo³

2013

Arch. esp. arqueol.

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Some theoretical aspects of isotope paleodiet studies

Cited by 295 publications

References 22 publications

Isotopic evidence for omnivory among European cave bears: Late Pleistocene Ursus spelaeus from the Peştera cu Oase, Romania

Isotopic evidence for omnivory among European cave bears: Late Pleistocene Ursus spelaeus from the Peştera cu Oase, Romania

Radiocarbon and Stable Isotope Analyses on the Earliest Jomon Skeletons from the Tochibara Rockshelter, Nagano, Japan

Identidades y ajuares en las necrópolis altomedievales. Estudios isotópicos del cementerio de San Martín de Dulantzi, Álava (siglos VI-X)

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