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Dodat PJ, Albalat E, Balter V, Couture-Veschambre C, Hardy M, Henrion J, Holliday T, Maureille B. Diverse bone-calcium isotope compositions in Neandertals suggest different dietary strategies. J Hum Evol 2024; 193:103566. [PMID: 39029412 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2024.103566] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2023] [Revised: 06/10/2024] [Accepted: 06/14/2024] [Indexed: 07/21/2024]
Abstract
Zooarcheological and geochemical evidence suggests Neanderthals were top predators, but their adherence to a strictly carnivorous diet has been questioned. Recent studies have demonstrated the potential of calcium-stable isotopes to evaluate trophic and ecological relationships. Here, we measure the δ44/42Ca values in bone samples from Mousterian contexts at Grotte du Bison (Marine Isotope Stage 3, Yonne, France) and Regourdou (Marine Isotope Stage 5, Dordogne, France) in two new Neanderthal individuals, associated fauna, and living local plants. We use a Bayesian mixing model to estimate the dietary composition of these Neanderthal individuals, plus a third one already analyzed. The results reveal three distinct diets: a diet including accidental or voluntary consumption of bone-based food, an intermediate diet, and a diet without consumption of bone-based food. This finding is the first demonstration of diverse subsistence strategies among Neanderthals and as such, reconciles archaeological and geochemical dietary evidence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pierre-Jean Dodat
- Laboratoire de Géologie de Lyon: Terre, Planètes, Environnements, UMR 5276, CNRS, Ecole Normale supérieure de Lyon, 46 Allée d'Italie, Lyon Cedex 07 69342, France; Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, Ministry of Culture, PACEA UMR 5199, Pessac F-33600, France.
| | - Emmanuelle Albalat
- Laboratoire de Géologie de Lyon: Terre, Planètes, Environnements, UMR 5276, CNRS, Ecole Normale supérieure de Lyon, 46 Allée d'Italie, Lyon Cedex 07 69342, France
| | - Vincent Balter
- Laboratoire de Géologie de Lyon: Terre, Planètes, Environnements, UMR 5276, CNRS, Ecole Normale supérieure de Lyon, 46 Allée d'Italie, Lyon Cedex 07 69342, France
| | | | - Maurice Hardy
- CNRS, UMR 7041, Univ. Nanterre, Ministère de la Culture, ArScAn, Nanterre 92000, France
| | - Juliette Henrion
- Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, Ministry of Culture, PACEA UMR 5199, Pessac F-33600, France
| | - Trenton Holliday
- Tulane University; Department of Anthropology, 101 Dinwiddie Hall, New Orleans, LA 70118, USA; University of the Witwatersrand; Centre for the Exploration of the Deep Human Journey, Private Bag 3, Wits 2050, Republic of South Africa
| | - Bruno Maureille
- Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, Ministry of Culture, PACEA UMR 5199, Pessac F-33600, France
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2
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Fiorenza L, Habashi W, Moggi-Cecchi J, Benazzi S, Sarig R. Relationship between interproximal and occlusal wear in Australopithecus africanus and Neanderthal molars. J Hum Evol 2023; 183:103423. [PMID: 37659139 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2023.103423] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2022] [Revised: 08/05/2023] [Accepted: 08/05/2023] [Indexed: 09/04/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Luca Fiorenza
- Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Department of Anatomy and Developmental Biology, Monash University, 3800 Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
| | - Waseem Habashi
- Department of Oral Biology, The Goldschleger School of Dental Medicine, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, 39040 Tel Aviv, Israel
| | | | - Stefano Benazzi
- Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Bologna, 48121 Ravenna, Italy
| | - Rachel Sarig
- Department of Oral Biology, The Goldschleger School of Dental Medicine, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, 39040 Tel Aviv, Israel; Dan David Center for Human Evolution and Biohistory Research, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, 39040 Tel Aviv, Israel
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3
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Pomeroy E. Review: The different adaptive trajectories in Neanderthals and Homo sapiens and their implications for contemporary human physiological variation. Comp Biochem Physiol A Mol Integr Physiol 2023; 280:111420. [PMID: 37001690 DOI: 10.1016/j.cbpa.2023.111420] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2023] [Revised: 03/26/2023] [Accepted: 03/27/2023] [Indexed: 03/31/2023]
Abstract
Neanderthals are our one of our closest evolutionary cousins, but while they evolved in Eurasia, we (anatomically modern humans, AMH) originated in Africa. This contrasting evolutionary history has led to morphological and genetic distinctions between our species. Neanderthals are characterised by a relatively stocky build, high body mass, proportionally wide bodies and shorter limbs, a bell-shaped ribcage with a wide pelvis, and a long, low cranial vault compared with AMH. Classic readings of Neanderthal morphology link many of these traits to cold climate adaptations, however these interpretations have been questioned and alternative hypotheses including behavioural factors, dietary adaptations, locomotor specialisations, evolutionary history and neutral evolutionary processes have been invoked. Compared with AMH, Neanderthals may have been adapted for strength and power rather than endurance and may have consumed a diet high in animal products. However, reviewing these hypotheses highlights a number of limitations in our understanding of contemporary human physiology and metabolism, including the relationship between climate and morphology in AMH and Neanderthals, physiological limits on protein consumption, and the relationship between gut morphology and diet. As various relevant factors are clearly linked (e.g. diet, behaviour, metabolism, morphology, activity), ultimately a more integrated approach may be needed to fully understand Neanderthal biology. Variation among contemporary AMHs may offer, with caveats, a useful model for understanding the evolution of both Neanderthal and modern human characteristics, which in turn may further deepen our understanding of variability within and between contemporary humans. Neanderthals; Anatomically modern humans; morphology; climate adaptation; power adaptations; metabolism; diet; physiology; endurance running.
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4
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Li Q, Luo K, Su Z, Huang F, Wu Y, Zhou F, Li Y, Peng X, Li J, Ren B. Dental calculus: A repository of bioinformation indicating diseases and human evolution. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2022; 12:1035324. [PMID: 36579339 PMCID: PMC9791188 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2022.1035324] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2022] [Accepted: 11/11/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Dental calculus has long been considered as a vital contributing factor of periodontal diseases. Our review focuses on the role of dental calculus as a repository and discusses the bioinformation recently reported to be concealed in dental calculus from three perspectives: time-varying oral condition, systemic diseases, and anthropology at various times. Molecular information representing an individual's contemporary oral health status could be detected in dental calculus. Additionally, pathogenic factors of systemic diseases were found in dental calculus, including bacteria, viruses and toxic heavy metals. Thus, dental calculus has been proposed to play a role as biological data storage for detection of molecular markers of latent health concerns. Through the study of environmental debris in dental calculus, an overview of an individual's historical dietary habits and information about the environment, individual behaviors and social culture changes can be unveiled. This review summarizes a new role of dental calculus as a repository of bioinformation, with potential use in the prediction of oral diseases, systemic diseases, and even anthropology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qinyang Li
- State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Department of Cariology and Endodontics, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Kaihua Luo
- State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Department of Cariology and Endodontics, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Zhifei Su
- State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Department of Cariology and Endodontics, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Fangting Huang
- State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Department of Cariology and Endodontics, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Yajie Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Department of Cariology and Endodontics, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Fangjie Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Department of Cariology and Endodontics, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Yuqing Li
- State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Xian Peng
- State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Jiyao Li
- State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Department of Cariology and Endodontics, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China,*Correspondence: Jiyao Li, ; Biao Ren,
| | - Biao Ren
- State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China,*Correspondence: Jiyao Li, ; Biao Ren,
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5
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Finestone EM, Breeze PS, Breitenbach SFM, Drake N, Bergmann L, Maksudov F, Muhammadiyev A, Scott P, Cai Y, Khatsenovich AM, Rybin EP, Nehrke G, Boivin N, Petraglia M. Paleolithic occupation of arid Central Asia in the Middle Pleistocene. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0273984. [PMID: 36269723 PMCID: PMC9586385 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0273984] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2022] [Accepted: 08/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Abstract
Central Asia is positioned at a crossroads linking several zones important to hominin dispersal during the Middle Pleistocene. However, the scarcity of stratified and dated archaeological material and paleoclimate records makes it difficult to understand dispersal and occupation dynamics during this time period, especially in arid zones. Here we compile and analyze paleoclimatic and archaeological data from Pleistocene Central Asia, including examination of a new layer-counted speleothem-based multiproxy record of hydrological changes in southern Uzbekistan at the end of MIS 11. Our findings indicate that Lower Palaeolithic sites in the steppe, semi-arid, and desert zones of Central Asia may have served as key areas for the dispersal of hominins into Eurasia during the Middle Pleistocene. In agreement with previous studies, we find that bifaces occur across these zones at higher latitudes and in lower altitudes relative to the other Paleolithic assemblages. We argue that arid Central Asia would have been intermittently habitable during the Middle Pleistocene when long warm interglacial phases coincided with periods when the Caspian Sea was experiencing consistently high water levels, resulting in greater moisture availability and more temperate conditions in otherwise arid regions. During periodic intervals in the Middle Pleistocene, the local environment of arid Central Asia was likely a favorable habitat for paleolithic hominins and was frequented by Lower Paleolithic toolmakers producing bifaces.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emma M. Finestone
- Department of Anthropology, The Cleveland Museum of Natural History, Cleveland, OH, United States of America
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
- * E-mail:
| | - Paul S. Breeze
- Department of Geography, Kings College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Sebastian F. M. Breitenbach
- Department of Geography and Environmental Sciences, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom
| | - Nick Drake
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
- Department of Geography, Kings College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Laura Bergmann
- Department of Physical Geography, Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt, Eichstätt, Germany
| | - Farhod Maksudov
- National Center of Archaeology, Uzbekistan Academy of Sciences, Tashkent, Uzbekistan
| | - Akmal Muhammadiyev
- National Center of Archaeology, Uzbekistan Academy of Sciences, Tashkent, Uzbekistan
| | - Pete Scott
- Centre for Microscopy, Characterisation and Analysis, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia
| | - Yanjun Cai
- Institute of Global Environmental Change, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, China
| | - Arina M. Khatsenovich
- Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, Russia
| | - Evgeny P. Rybin
- Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, Russia
| | - Gernot Nehrke
- Alfred-Wegener-Institut Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung, Bremerhaven, Germany
| | - Nicole Boivin
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
- School of Social Science, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
- Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
- Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, United States of America
| | - Michael Petraglia
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
- School of Social Science, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
- Human Origins Program, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, United States of America
- Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution, Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia
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6
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Daujeard C, Prat S. What Are the “Costs and Benefits” of Meat-Eating in Human Evolution? The Challenging Contribution of Behavioral Ecology to Archeology. Front Ecol Evol 2022. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2022.834638] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite the omnivorous diet of most human populations, meat foraging gradually increased during the Paleolithic, in parallel with the development of hunting capacities. There is evidence of regular meat consumption by extinct hominins from 2 Ma onward, with the first occurrence prior to 3 Ma in Eastern Africa. The number of sites with cut-marked animal remains and stone tools increased after 2 Ma. In addition, toolkits became increasingly complex, and various, facilitating carcass defleshing and marrow recovery, the removal of quarters of meat to avoid carnivore competition, and allowing the emergence of cooperative (i.e., social) hunting of large herbivores. How can we assess the energy costs and benefits of meat and fat acquisition and consumption for hunter-gatherers in the past, and is it possible to accurately evaluate them? Answering this question would provide a better understanding of extinct hominin land use, food resource management, foraging strategies, and cognitive abilities related to meat and fat acquisition, processing, and consumption. According to the Optimal Foraging Theory (OFT), resources may be chosen primarily on the basis of their efficiency rank in term of calories. But, could other factors, and not only calorific return, prevail in the choice of prey, such as the acquisition of non-food products, like pelts, bone tools or ornaments, or symbolic or traditional uses? Our main goal here is to question the direct application of behavioral ecology data to archeology. For this purpose, we focus on the issue of animal meat and fat consumption in human evolution. We propose a short review of available data from energetics and ethnographic records, and provide examples of several various-sized extant animals, such as elephants, reindeer, or lagomorphs, which were some of the most common preys of Paleolithic hominins.
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7
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Reconstructing Neanderthal diet: The case for carbohydrates. J Hum Evol 2021; 162:103105. [PMID: 34923240 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2021.103105] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2021] [Revised: 10/19/2021] [Accepted: 10/20/2021] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Evidence for plants rarely survives on Paleolithic sites, while animal bones and biomolecular analyses suggest animal produce was important to hominin populations, leading to the perspective that Neanderthals had a very-high-protein diet. But although individual and short-term survival is possible on a relatively low-carbohydrate diet, populations are unlikely to have thrived and reproduced without plants and the carbohydrates they provide. Today, nutritional guidelines recommend that around half the diet should be carbohydrate, while low intake is considered to compromise physical performance and successful reproduction. This is likely to have been the same for Paleolithic populations, highlighting an anomaly in that the basic physiological recommendations do not match the extensive archaeological evidence. Neanderthals had large, energy-expensive brains and led physically active lifestyles, suggesting that for optimal health they would have required high amounts of carbohydrates. To address this anomaly, we begin by outlining the essential role of carbohydrates in the human reproduction cycle and the brain and the effects on physical performance. We then evaluate the evidence for resource availability and the archaeological evidence for Neanderthal diet and investigate three ways that the anomaly between the archaeological evidence and the hypothetical dietary requirements might be explained. First, Neanderthals may have had an as yet unidentified genetic adaptation to an alternative physiological method to spare blood glucose and glycogen reserves for essential purposes. Second, they may have existed on a less-than-optimum diet and survived rather than thrived. Third, the methods used in dietary reconstruction could mask a complex combination of dietary plant and animal proportions. We end by proposing that analyses of Paleolithic diet and subsistence strategies need to be grounded in the minimum recommendations throughout the life course and that this provides a context for interpretation of the archaeological evidence from the behavioral and environmental perspectives.
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8
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Picin A, Benazzi S, Blasco R, Hajdinjak M, Helgen KM, Hublin JJ, Rosell J, Skoglund P, Stringer C, Talamo S. Comment on "A global environmental crisis 42,000 years ago". Science 2021; 374:eabi8330. [PMID: 34793212 PMCID: PMC7612203 DOI: 10.1126/science.abi8330] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
Cooper et al. (Research Articles, 19 February 2021, p. 811) propose that the Laschamps geomagnetic inversion ~42 ka BP drove global climatic shifts, causing major behavioural changes within prehistoric groups, and events of human and megafaunal extinction. Other scientific studies indicate that this proposition is unproven from the current archaeological, paleoanthropological, and genetic records.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Picin
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Stefano Benazzi
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany.,Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Bologna, Ravenna 48121, Italy
| | - Ruth Blasco
- Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES-CERCA), Zona Educacional 4, Campus Sescelades URV (Edifici W3), Tarragona 43007, Spain.,Departament d'Història i Història de l'Art, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Tarragona 43002, Spain
| | - Mateja Hajdinjak
- Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany.,Francis Crick Institute, London NW1 1AT, UK
| | | | - Jean-Jacques Hublin
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany.,Chaire de Paléoanthropologie, Collège de France, Paris 75231, France
| | - Jordi Rosell
- Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES-CERCA), Zona Educacional 4, Campus Sescelades URV (Edifici W3), Tarragona 43007, Spain.,Departament d'Història i Història de l'Art, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Tarragona 43002, Spain
| | | | - Chris Stringer
- CHER, Department of Earth Sciences, Natural History Museum, London SW7 5BD, UK
| | - Sahra Talamo
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany.,Department of Chemistry "G. Ciamician," University of Bologna, Bologna 40126, Italy
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9
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A way to break bones? The weight of intuitiveness. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0259136. [PMID: 34714863 PMCID: PMC8555848 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0259136] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2021] [Accepted: 10/13/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
During the Paleolithic period, bone marrow extraction was an essential source of fat nutrients for hunter-gatherers especially throughout cold and dry seasons. This is attested by the recurrent findings of percussion marks in osteological material from anthropized archaeological levels. Among them some showed indicators that the marrow extraction process was part of a butchery cultural practice, meaning that the inflicted fracturing gestures and techniques were recurrent, standardized and counter-intuitive. In order to assess the weight of the counter-intuitive factor in the percussion mark pattern distribution, we carried out an experiment that by contrast focuses on the intuitive approach of fracturing bones to extract marrow, involving individual without experience in this activity. We wanted to evaluate the influence of bone morphology and the individuals' behaviour on the distribution of percussion marks. Twelve experimenters broke 120 limb bones, a series of 10 bones per individual. During the experiment, information concerning the fracture of the bones as well as individual behaviour was collected and was subsequently compared to data from the laboratory study of the remains. Then, we applied an innovative GIS (Geographic Information System) method to analyze the distribution of percussion marks to highlight recurrent patterns. Results show that in spite of all the variables there is a high similarity in the distribution of percussion marks which we consider as intuitive patterns. The factor influenced the distribution for the humerus, radius-ulna and tibia series is the bone morphology, while for the femur series individual behaviour seems to have more weight in the distribution. To go further in the subject we need to compare the intuitive models with the distributions of percussion marks registered in fossil assemblages. Thus, it would be possible to propose new hypotheses on butchering practices based on the results presented in this work.
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10
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Cook RW, Vazzana A, Sorrentino R, Benazzi S, Smith AL, Strait DS, Ledogar JA. The cranial biomechanics and feeding performance of Homo floresiensis. Interface Focus 2021; 11:20200083. [PMID: 34938433 PMCID: PMC8361579 DOI: 10.1098/rsfs.2020.0083] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/15/2021] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Homo floresiensis is a small-bodied hominin from Flores, Indonesia, that exhibits plesiomorphic dentognathic features, including large premolars and a robust mandible, aspects of which have been considered australopith-like. However, relative to australopith species, H. floresiensis exhibits reduced molar size and a cranium with diminutive midfacial dimensions similar to those of later Homo, suggesting a reduction in the frequency of forceful biting behaviours. Our study uses finite-element analysis to examine the feeding biomechanics of the H. floresiensis cranium. We simulate premolar (P3) and molar (M2) biting in a finite-element model (FEM) of the H. floresiensis holotype cranium (LB1) and compare the mechanical results with FEMs of chimpanzees, modern humans and a sample of australopiths (MH1, Sts 5, OH5). With few exceptions, strain magnitudes in LB1 resemble elevated levels observed in modern Homo. Our analysis of LB1 suggests that H. floresiensis could produce bite forces with high mechanical efficiency, but was subject to tensile jaw joint reaction forces during molar biting, which perhaps constrained maximum postcanine bite force production. The inferred feeding biomechanics of H. floresiensis closely resemble modern humans, suggesting that this pattern may have been present in the last common ancestor of Homo sapiens and H. floresiensis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca W Cook
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Antonino Vazzana
- Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Rita Sorrentino
- Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.,Department of Biological, Geological, and Environmental Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Stefano Benazzi
- Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.,Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Amanda L Smith
- Department of Anatomy, Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences, Yakima, WA, USA
| | - David S Strait
- Department of Anthropology, Washington University in St Louis, St Louis, MO, USA
| | - Justin A Ledogar
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
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11
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Unravelling the Taphonomic Stories of Bird Bones from the Middle Pleistocene Layer VIII of Grotte Vaufrey, France. QUATERNARY 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/quat4040030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
In recent years, several studies have significantly changed our knowledge concerning the use of birds by Neanderthals. However, what remains to be clarified is the geographical and chronological variability of this human behaviour. The present case study provides new information on this topic/debate. The Grotte Vaufrey was discovered during the 1930s and was excavated during different periods. Work carried out by J.-P. Rigaud during the 1980s motivated many multidisciplinary studies in the cave, but accurate studies were not focused on avian remains. In this work, we provide new data on the bird remains from layer VIII (MIS 7), which is the richest among all the sequences and which has an important Mousterian component. Corvids are predominant in the assemblage and are associated with medium-sized birds and small Passeriformes, among others. Most of the remains present modern fractures, which hinder taphonomic interpretation. However, some alterations associated with raptor or mammalian carnivore activities, together with the anatomical representation and age profile, suggest a non-human accumulation of the majority of the bird remains, especially in the case of corvids that naturally died in the cave. However, at least some bones show evidence of anthropic activity, suggesting the occasional use of large- and medium-sized birds by human populations.
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12
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Salazar-García DC, Power RC, Rudaya N, Kolobova K, Markin S, Krivoshapkin A, Henry AG, Richards MP, Viola B. Dietary evidence from Central Asian Neanderthals: A combined isotope and plant microremains approach at Chagyrskaya Cave (Altai, Russia). J Hum Evol 2021; 156:102985. [PMID: 34051612 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2021.102985] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2019] [Revised: 03/03/2021] [Accepted: 03/03/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Neanderthals are known primarily from their habitation of Western Eurasia, but they also populated large expanses of Northern Asia for thousands of years. Owing to a sparse archaeological record, relatively little is known about these eastern Neanderthal populations. Unlike in their western range, there are limited zooarchaeological and paleobotanical studies that inform us about the nature of their subsistence. Here, we perform a combined analysis of carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes on bone collagen and microbotanical remains in dental calculus to reconstruct the diet of eastern Neanderthals at Chagyrskaya Cave in the Altai Mountains of Southern Siberia, Russia. Stable isotopes identify one individual as possessing a high trophic level due to the hunting of large- and medium-sized ungulates, while the analysis of dental calculus also indicates the presence of plants in the diet of this individual and others from the site. These findings indicate eastern Neanderthals may have had broadly similar subsistence patterns to those elsewhere in their range.
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Affiliation(s)
- Domingo C Salazar-García
- Department of Human Evolution, Max-Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany; Departament de Prehistòria, Arqueologia I Història Antiga, Universitat de València, València, Spain; Grupo de Investigación en Prehistoria IT-1223-19 (UPV-EHU)/IKERBASQUE-Basque Foundation for Science, Vitoria, Spain; Department of Geological Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
| | - Robert C Power
- Department of Human Evolution, Max-Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany; Institut für Vor- und Frühgeschichtliche Archäologie und Provinzialrömische Archäologie, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Schellingstraße, 1280799, München, Germany.
| | - Natalia Rudaya
- Institute for Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Pr. Akademika Lavrentieva 17, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia
| | - Ksenya Kolobova
- Institute for Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Pr. Akademika Lavrentieva 17, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia
| | - Sergey Markin
- Institute for Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Pr. Akademika Lavrentieva 17, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia
| | - Andrey Krivoshapkin
- Institute for Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Pr. Akademika Lavrentieva 17, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia
| | - Amanda G Henry
- Department of Archaeological Sciences, Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | | | - Bence Viola
- Department of Anthropology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
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13
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Dental wear patterns reveal dietary ecology and season of death in a historical chimpanzee population. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0251309. [PMID: 33970963 PMCID: PMC8109778 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0251309] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2020] [Accepted: 04/25/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Dental wear analyses have been widely used to interpret the dietary ecology in primates. However, it remains unclear to what extent a combination of wear analyses acting at distinct temporal scales can be beneficial in interpreting the tooth use of primates with a high variation in their intraspecific dietary ecology. Here, we combine macroscopic tooth wear (occlusal fingerprint analysis, long-term signals) with microscopic 3D surface textures (short-term signals) exploring the tooth use of a historical western chimpanzee population from northeastern Liberia with no detailed dietary records. We compare our results to previously published tooth wear and feeding data of the extant and continually monitored chimpanzees of Taї National Park in Ivory Coast. Macroscopic tooth wear results from molar wear facets of the Liberian population indicate only slightly less wear when compared to the Taї population. This suggests similar long-term feeding behavior between both populations. In contrast, 3D surface texture results show that Liberian chimpanzees have many and small microscopic wear facet features that group them with those Taї chimpanzees that knowingly died during dry periods. This coincides with historical accounts, which indicate that local tribes poached and butchered the Liberian specimens during dust-rich dry periods. In addition, Liberian females and males differ somewhat in their 3D surface textures, with females having more microscopic peaks, smaller hill and dale areas and slightly rougher wear facet surfaces than males. This suggests a higher consumption of insects in Liberian females compared to males, based on similar 3D surface texture patterns previously reported for Taї chimpanzees. Our study opens new options for uncovering details of feeding behaviors of chimpanzees and other living and fossil primates, with macroscopic tooth wear tracing the long-term dietary and environmental history of a single population and microscopic tooth wear addressing short-term changes (e.g. seasonality).
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14
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Prey Size Decline as a Unifying Ecological Selecting Agent in Pleistocene Human Evolution. QUATERNARY 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/quat4010007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
We hypothesize that megafauna extinctions throughout the Pleistocene, that led to a progressive decline in large prey availability, were a primary selecting agent in key evolutionary and cultural changes in human prehistory. The Pleistocene human past is characterized by a series of transformations that include the evolution of new physiological traits and the adoption, assimilation, and replacement of cultural and behavioral patterns. Some changes, such as brain expansion, use of fire, developments in stone-tool technologies, or the scale of resource intensification, were uncharacteristically progressive. We previously hypothesized that humans specialized in acquiring large prey because of their higher foraging efficiency, high biomass density, higher fat content, and the use of less complex tools for their acquisition. Here, we argue that the need to mitigate the additional energetic cost of acquiring progressively smaller prey may have been an ecological selecting agent in fundamental adaptive modes demonstrated in the Paleolithic archaeological record. We describe several potential associations between prey size decline and specific evolutionary and cultural changes that might have been driven by the need to adapt to increased energetic demands while hunting and processing smaller and smaller game.
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15
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Correia MA, Foley R, Mirazón Lahr M. Applying dental microwear texture analysis to the living: Challenges and prospects. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2020; 174:542-554. [PMID: 32920867 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24133] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2020] [Revised: 07/22/2020] [Accepted: 08/02/2020] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES The food that people and animals consume leaves microscopic traces on teeth in predictable ways, and analyses of these markings-known as dental microwear analyses-allow us to reverse engineer the characteristics of diet. However, the microwear features of modern human diets are most often interpreted through the lens of ethnographic records. Given the subtle variation within human diets when compared to other species, we need better models of how foods and processing techniques produce marks on teeth. Here, we report on the second study to target the occlusal surface microwear of living human populations, and the first to target populations other than foragers. METHODS We collected 150 dental impressions from five Kenyan communities: El Molo, Turkana (Kerio), Luhya (Webuye), Luhya (Port Victoria), and Luo (Port Victoria), representing a range of subsistence strategies and associated staple diets-fishing, pastoralism, and agriculture. Our results suggest that the occlusal microwear of these groups records differences in diet. However, biofilm obscured most of the molds obtained despite the steps taken to remove it, resulting in only 38 usable surfaces. RESULTS Due to the biofilm problem and final sample size, the analysis did not have enough power to demonstrate the differences observed statistically. The results and problems encountered are here explained. CONCLUSIONS Considering that in vivo studies of dental microwear texture analysis have the potential to increase our understanding of the association between patterns of dental microwear and complex, mixed human diets, resolution of the current pitfalls of the technique is critical.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Ana Correia
- Leverhulme Centre for Human Evolutionary Studies, Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Robert Foley
- Leverhulme Centre for Human Evolutionary Studies, Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.,Turkana Basin Institute, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Marta Mirazón Lahr
- Leverhulme Centre for Human Evolutionary Studies, Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.,Turkana Basin Institute, Nairobi, Kenya
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16
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Oxilia G, Bortolini E, Badino F, Bernardini F, Gazzoni V, Lugli F, Romandini M, Radini A, Terlato G, Marciani G, Silvestrini S, Menghi Sartorio JC, Thun Hohenstein U, Fiorenza L, Kullmer O, Tuniz C, Moggi Cecchi J, Talamo S, Fontana F, Peresani M, Benazzi S, Cristiani E. Exploring late Paleolithic and Mesolithic diet in the Eastern Alpine region of Italy through multiple proxies. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2020; 174:232-253. [PMID: 32914870 PMCID: PMC7918647 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24128] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2020] [Revised: 06/30/2020] [Accepted: 07/09/2020] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Objectives The analysis of prehistoric human dietary habits is key for understanding the effects of paleoenvironmental changes on the evolution of cultural and social human behaviors. In this study, we compare results from zooarchaeological, stable isotope and dental calculus analyses as well as lower second molar macrowear patterns to gain a broader understanding of the diet of three individuals who lived between the end of the Late Pleistocene and the Early Holocene (ca., 17–8 ky cal BP) in the Eastern Alpine region of Italy. Materials and methods We analyze individuals buried at the sites of Riparo Tagliente (Verona), Riparo Villabruna, and Mondeval de Sora (Belluno). The three burials provide a unique dataset for diachronically exploring the influence of climatic changes on human subsistence strategies. Results Isotopic results indicate that all individuals likely relied on both terrestrial and freshwater animal proteins. Even though dental calculus analysis was, in part, hindered by the amount of mineral deposit available on the teeth, tooth macrowear study suggests that the dietary habits of the individuals included plant foods. Moreover, differences in macrowear patterns of lower second molars have been documented between Neanderthals and modern humans in the present sample, due to a prevalence of Buccal wear among the former as opposed to higher values of Lingual wear in modern human teeth. Discussion Isotopic analyses have emphasized the contribution of animal proteins in the diet of the three foragers from the Eastern Alpine region. The possible intake of carbohydrate‐rich plant foods, suggested by the retrieval of plant remains in dental calculus, is supported by the signal of macrowear analysis. Moreover, the latter method indicates that the distribution of macrowear in lower second molars (M2s) allows us to discriminate between Neanderthals and modern humans within the present reference sample. Overall, our results show these three prehistoric hunter‐gatherers were well adapted to the environment in which they lived exploiting many natural resources.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gregorio Oxilia
- Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Bologna, Ravenna, Italy.,DANTE Diet and Ancient Technology Laboratory, Department of Oral and Maxillo Facial Sciences Sapienza University, Rome, Italy
| | - Eugenio Bortolini
- Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Bologna, Ravenna, Italy
| | - Federica Badino
- Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Bologna, Ravenna, Italy.,C.N.R. - Istituto di Geologia Ambientale e Geoingegneria, Milan, Italy
| | - Federico Bernardini
- Centro Fermi, Museo Storico della Fisica e Centro di Studi e Ricerche Enrico Fermi, Rome, Italy.,Multidisciplinary Laboratory, The Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Trieste, Italy
| | - Valentina Gazzoni
- Department of Humanities-Section of Prehistoric and Anthropological Sciences, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
| | - Federico Lugli
- Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Bologna, Ravenna, Italy.,Department of Chemical and Geological Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy
| | - Matteo Romandini
- Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Bologna, Ravenna, Italy.,Department of Humanities-Section of Prehistoric and Anthropological Sciences, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
| | - Anita Radini
- DANTE Diet and Ancient Technology Laboratory, Department of Oral and Maxillo Facial Sciences Sapienza University, Rome, Italy
| | - Gabriele Terlato
- Department of Humanities-Section of Prehistoric and Anthropological Sciences, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
| | - Giulia Marciani
- Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Bologna, Ravenna, Italy
| | - Sara Silvestrini
- Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Bologna, Ravenna, Italy
| | - Jessica C Menghi Sartorio
- Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Bologna, Ravenna, Italy.,Department of Humanities-Section of Prehistoric and Anthropological Sciences, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
| | - Ursula Thun Hohenstein
- Department of Humanities-Section of Prehistoric and Anthropological Sciences, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
| | - Luca Fiorenza
- Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Department of Anatomy and Developmental Biology, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.,Earth Sciences, University of New England, Armidale, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Ottmar Kullmer
- Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.,Department of Paleobiology and Environment, Institute of Ecology, Evolution, and Diversity, Johann Wolfgang Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Claudio Tuniz
- Centro Fermi, Museo Storico della Fisica e Centro di Studi e Ricerche Enrico Fermi, Rome, Italy.,Multidisciplinary Laboratory, The Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Trieste, Italy.,Centre for Archaeological Science, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia
| | | | - Sahra Talamo
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany.,Department of Chemistry "G. Ciamician", University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Federica Fontana
- Department of Humanities-Section of Prehistoric and Anthropological Sciences, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
| | - Marco Peresani
- C.N.R. - Istituto di Geologia Ambientale e Geoingegneria, Milan, Italy.,Department of Humanities-Section of Prehistoric and Anthropological Sciences, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
| | - Stefano Benazzi
- Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Bologna, Ravenna, Italy.,Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Emanuela Cristiani
- DANTE Diet and Ancient Technology Laboratory, Department of Oral and Maxillo Facial Sciences Sapienza University, Rome, Italy
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17
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New perspectives on Neanderthal dispersal and turnover from Stajnia Cave (Poland). Sci Rep 2020; 10:14778. [PMID: 32901061 PMCID: PMC7479612 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-71504-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2020] [Accepted: 08/17/2020] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
The Micoquian is the broadest and longest enduring cultural facies of the Late Middle Palaeolithic that spread across the periglacial and boreal environments of Europe between Eastern France, Poland, and Northern Caucasus. Here, we present new data from the archaeological record of Stajnia Cave (Poland) and the paleogenetic analysis of a Neanderthal molar S5000, found in a Micoquian context. Our results demonstrate that the mtDNA genome of Stajnia S5000 dates to MIS 5a making the tooth the oldest Neanderthal specimen from Central-Eastern Europe. Furthermore, S5000 mtDNA has the fewest number of differences to mtDNA of Mezmaiskaya 1 Neanderthal from Northern Caucasus, and is more distant from almost contemporaneous Neanderthals of Scladina and Hohlenstein-Stadel. This observation and the technological affinity between Poland and the Northern Caucasus could be the result of increased mobility of Neanderthals that changed their subsistence strategy for coping with the new low biomass environments and the increased foraging radius of gregarious animals. The Prut and Dniester rivers were probably used as the main corridors of dispersal. The persistence of the Micoquian techno-complex in South-Eastern Europe infers that this axis of mobility was also used at the beginning of MIS 3 when a Neanderthal population turnover occurred in the Northern Caucasus.
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18
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Fung S, Lee J, Yong R, Ranjitkar S, Kaidonis J, Pilbrow V, Panagiotopoulou O, Fiorenza L. A functional analysis of Carabelli trait in Australian aboriginal dentition. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2020; 174:375-383. [PMID: 32779189 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2020] [Revised: 06/16/2020] [Accepted: 07/08/2020] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Carabelli is a nonmetric dental trait variably expressed as a small pit to a prominent cusp in the maxillary molars of modern humans. Investigations on the occurrence and expression rates of this trait have been conducted extensively, tracing its origin to genetic sources. However, there remains a lack of understanding about its potential role in chewing. In this study, we examine molar macrowear with the aim of reconstructing Carabelli trait occlusal dynamics occurring during chewing. METHODS We have examined 96 deciduous and permanent maxillary molars of children and young adults from Yuendumu, an Australian Aboriginal population that was at an early stage of transition from a nomadic and hunter-gatherer way of life to a more settled existence. We apply a well-established method, called Occlusal Fingerprint Analysis, which is a digital approach for analyzing dental macrowear allowing the reconstruction of jaw movements required to produce wear pattern specific to each tooth. RESULTS Carabelli trait slightly enlarges the surface functional area, especially in those molars where this feature is expressed in its cuspal form and it is closer to the occlusal plane. Moreover, the highly steep contact planes would also indicate that Carabelli wear areas contribute to increasing the shearing abilities of the occluded teeth, which are particularly important when processing fibrous and tough foods. CONCLUSIONS The macrowear analysis suggests that Carabelli trait in the Aboriginal people from Yuendumu slightly enhanced occlusion and probably played some functional role during mastication. Future biomechanical and microwear analyses could provide additional information on the mechanical adaptation of Carabelli trait in modern human dentition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Fung
- Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Department of Anatomy and Developmental Biology, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Jinyoung Lee
- Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Department of Anatomy and Developmental Biology, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Robin Yong
- Adelaide Dental School, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
| | - Sarbin Ranjitkar
- Adelaide Dental School, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
| | - John Kaidonis
- Adelaide Dental School, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
| | - Varsha Pilbrow
- Australian Institute of Archaeology, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Olga Panagiotopoulou
- Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Department of Anatomy and Developmental Biology, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Luca Fiorenza
- Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Department of Anatomy and Developmental Biology, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.,Earth Sciences, University of New England, Armidale, New South Wales, Australia
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19
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Krueger KL, Willman JC, Matthews GJ, Hublin JJ, Pérez-Pérez A. Anterior tooth-use behaviors among early modern humans and Neandertals. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0224573. [PMID: 31774826 PMCID: PMC6880970 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0224573] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2019] [Accepted: 11/10/2019] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Early modern humans (EMH) are often touted as behaviorally advanced to Neandertals, with more sophisticated technologies, expanded resource exploitation, and more complex clothing production. However, recent analyses have indicated that Neandertals were more nuanced in their behavioral adaptations, with the production of the Châtelperronian technocomplex, the processing and cooking of plant foods, and differences in behavioral adaptations according to habitat. This study adds to this debate by addressing the behavioral strategies of EMH (n = 30) within the context of non-dietary anterior tooth-use behaviors to glean possible differences between them and their Neandertal (n = 45) counterparts. High-resolution casts of permanent anterior teeth were used to collect microwear textures of fossil and comparative bioarchaeological samples using a Sensofar white-light confocal profiler with a 100x objective lens. Labial surfaces were scanned, totaling a work envelope of 204 x 276 μm for each individual. The microwear textures were examined for post-mortem damage and uploaded to SSFA software packages for surface characterization. Statistical analyses were performed to examine differences in central tendencies and distributions of anisotropy and textural fill volume variables among the EMH sample itself by habitat, location, and time interval, and between the EMH and Neandertal samples by habitat and location. Descriptive statistics for the EMH sample were compared to seven bioarchaeological samples (n = 156) that utilized different tooth-use behaviors to better elucidate specific activities that may have been performed by EMH. Results show no significant differences between the means within the EMH sample by habitat, location, or time interval. Furthermore, there are no significant differences found here between EMH and Neandertals. Comparisons to the bioarchaeological samples suggest both fossil groups participated in clamping and grasping activities. These results indicate that EMH and Neandertals were similar in their non-dietary anterior tooth-use behaviors and provide additional evidence for overlapping behavioral strategies employed by these two hominins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristin L. Krueger
- Department of Anthropology, Loyola University Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - John C. Willman
- Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES), Tarragona, Spain
- Àrea de Prehistòria, Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV), Tarragona, Spain
| | - Gregory J. Matthews
- Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Loyola University Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
| | - Jean-Jacques Hublin
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Alejandro Pérez-Pérez
- Department of Evolutionary Biology, Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
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20
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Sánchez-Hernández C, Gourichon L, Pubert E, Rendu W, Montes R, Rivals F. Combined dental wear and cementum analyses in ungulates reveal the seasonality of Neanderthal occupations in Covalejos Cave (Northern Iberia). Sci Rep 2019; 9:14335. [PMID: 31586143 PMCID: PMC6778078 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-50719-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2019] [Accepted: 09/17/2019] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
We propose for the first time the use of the combination of two high-resolution techniques, dental wear (meso- and microwear) and dental cementum analyses, to gain a better understanding of Neanderthal subsistence strategies and occupational patterns. Dental wear analysis provides information not only on ungulate palaeodiet and palaeoenvironments but also on hunting time and seasons. Dental cementum analysis allows the accurate determination of the age and season at death of a prey. Our study has focused on the Cantabrian region and has applied both methods to investigate the Mousterian faunal assemblages in Covalejos Cave. Identification of the ungulate palaeodiet reveals information on the environmental conditions of the studied region. Moreover, it may facilitate observation on the evolution of both palaeodiet and palaeoenvironment throughout the site sequence. Results show a general stability in the palaeoenvironmental conditions and in the ungulate palaeodiet throughout the Mousterian sequence; this finding may be attributed to the role of the area as a climate refuge, and slight differences in levels 8, 7 and 4 suggest long- or short-term but repeated Neanderthal occupations at different seasons in the annual cycle.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carlos Sánchez-Hernández
- Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES), Zona Educacional 4, Campus Sescelades URV (Edifici W3), 43007, Tarragona, Spain.
- Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV), Àrea de Prehistòria, Avinguda de Catalunya 35, 43002, Tarragona, Spain.
- Université Côte d'Azur, CNRS, CEPAM, Nice, France.
| | | | - Eric Pubert
- PACEA (CNRS-UMR 5199), Université de Bordeaux, Bâtiment B2, Allée Geoffroy Saint Hilaire, Pessac, France
| | - William Rendu
- PACEA (CNRS-UMR 5199), Université de Bordeaux, Bâtiment B2, Allée Geoffroy Saint Hilaire, Pessac, France
| | - Ramón Montes
- Itinerario Cultural del Consejo de Europa Prehistoric Rock Art, Madrid, Spain
| | - Florent Rivals
- Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES), Zona Educacional 4, Campus Sescelades URV (Edifici W3), 43007, Tarragona, Spain
- Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV), Àrea de Prehistòria, Avinguda de Catalunya 35, 43002, Tarragona, Spain
- ICREA, Pg. Lluís Companys 23, 08010, Barcelona, Spain
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21
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Dental macrowear and cortical bone distribution of the Neanderthal mandible from Regourdou (Dordogne, Southwestern France). J Hum Evol 2019; 132:174-188. [PMID: 31203846 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2019.05.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2018] [Revised: 05/04/2019] [Accepted: 05/04/2019] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Tooth wear is an important feature for reconstructing diet, food processing and cultural habits of past human populations. In particular, occlusal wear facets can be extremely useful for detecting information about diet and non-masticatory behaviors. The aim of this study is to reconstruct the diet and cultural behavior of the Neanderthal specimen Regourdou 1 (Dordogne, Southern France) from the analysis of the macrowear pattern, using the occlusal fingerprint analysis method. In addition, we have also examined whether there is any association between the observed dental macrowear and mandibular bone distribution and root dentine thickness. The posterior dentition of Regourdou 1 is characterized by an asymmetric wear pattern, with the right side significantly more worn than the left. In contrast, the left lower P3 shows a more advanced wear than the right premolar, with unusual semicircular enamel wear facets. The results from occlusal fingerprint analysis of this unique pattern suggest tooth-tool uses for daily task activities. Moreover, the left buccal aspect of the mandibular cortical bone is thicker than its right counterpart, and the left P3 has a thicker radicular dentine layer than its antimere. These results show a certain degree of asymmetry in cortical bone topography and dentine tissue that could be associated with the observed dental macrowear pattern. The molar macrowear pattern also suggests that Regourdou 1 had a mixed diet typical of those populations living in temperate deciduous woodlands and Mediterranean habitats, including animal and plant foods. Although this study is limited to one Neanderthal individual, future analyses based on a larger sample may further assist us to better understand the existing relationship between mandibular architecture, occlusal wear and the masticatory apparatus in humans.
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22
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Dental calculus indicates widespread plant use within the stable Neanderthal dietary niche. J Hum Evol 2018; 119:27-41. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2018.02.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2017] [Revised: 02/07/2018] [Accepted: 02/16/2018] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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23
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Judd MA, Walker JL, Ventresca Miller A, Razhev D, Epimakhov AV, Hanks BK. Life in the fast lane: Settled pastoralism in the Central Eurasian Steppe during the Middle Bronze Age. Am J Hum Biol 2018; 30:e23129. [DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.23129] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2017] [Revised: 01/16/2018] [Accepted: 03/16/2018] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Margaret A. Judd
- Department of Anthropology; University of Pittsburgh; Pittsburgh Pennsylvania 15260
| | - Jessica L. Walker
- Department of Anthropology; University of Pittsburgh; Pittsburgh Pennsylvania 15260
| | - Alicia Ventresca Miller
- Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Human Development in Landscapes, Institute for Prehistoric and Protohistoric Archaeology, Archaeological Stable Isotope Laboratory; Kiel, 24118 Germany
- Department of Archaeology; Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History; Jena, 07745 Germany
| | - Dmitry Razhev
- Tyumen Scientific Centre SB RAS, Institute of the Problems of Northern Development; Tyumen Russia
| | - Andrey V. Epimakhov
- Institute of History and Archaeology (Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences); South Ural State University; Chelyabinsk, 454080 Russia
| | - Bryan K. Hanks
- Department of Anthropology; University of Pittsburgh; Pittsburgh Pennsylvania 15260
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24
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Wroe S, Parr WCH, Ledogar JA, Bourke J, Evans SP, Fiorenza L, Benazzi S, Hublin JJ, Stringer C, Kullmer O, Curry M, Rae TC, Yokley TR. Computer simulations show that Neanderthal facial morphology represents adaptation to cold and high energy demands, but not heavy biting. Proc Biol Sci 2018; 285:20180085. [PMID: 29618551 PMCID: PMC5904316 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2018.0085] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2018] [Accepted: 03/13/2018] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Three adaptive hypotheses have been forwarded to explain the distinctive Neanderthal face: (i) an improved ability to accommodate high anterior bite forces, (ii) more effective conditioning of cold and/or dry air and, (iii) adaptation to facilitate greater ventilatory demands. We test these hypotheses using three-dimensional models of Neanderthals, modern humans, and a close outgroup (Homo heidelbergensis), applying finite-element analysis (FEA) and computational fluid dynamics (CFD). This is the most comprehensive application of either approach applied to date and the first to include both. FEA reveals few differences between H. heidelbergensis, modern humans, and Neanderthals in their capacities to sustain high anterior tooth loadings. CFD shows that the nasal cavities of Neanderthals and especially modern humans condition air more efficiently than does that of H. heidelbergensis, suggesting that both evolved to better withstand cold and/or dry climates than less derived Homo We further find that Neanderthals could move considerably more air through the nasal pathway than could H. heidelbergensis or modern humans, consistent with the propositions that, relative to our outgroup Homo, Neanderthal facial morphology evolved to reflect improved capacities to better condition cold, dry air, and, to move greater air volumes in response to higher energetic requirements.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephen Wroe
- Function, Evolution and Anatomy Research Lab, School of Environmental and Rural Science, University of New England, Armidale, New South Wales 2351, Australia
| | - William C H Parr
- Surgical and Orthopaedic Research Laboratory (SORL), Level 1, Clinical Sciences Bld, Gate 6, Prince of Wales Clinical School, University of New South Wales (UNSW), Avoca St, Randwick, Sydney, New South Wales 2031, Australia
| | - Justin A Ledogar
- Function, Evolution and Anatomy Research Lab, School of Environmental and Rural Science, University of New England, Armidale, New South Wales 2351, Australia
| | - Jason Bourke
- College of Osteopathic Medicine, New York Institute of Technology, Jonesboro, AR 72401, USA
| | - Samuel P Evans
- School of Engineering, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, New South Wales 2308, Australia
| | - Luca Fiorenza
- Department of Anatomy and Developmental Biology, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia
| | - Stefano Benazzi
- Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Bologna, Via degli Ariani 1, Ravenna 48121, Italy
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Jean-Jacques Hublin
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Chris Stringer
- Department of Earth Sciences, Natural History Museum, London SW7 5BD, UK
| | - Ottmar Kullmer
- Senckenberg Forschungsinstitut Frankfurt am Main, Abteilung Paläoanthropologie und Messelforschung, Sektion Tertiäre Säugetiere, Senckenberganlage 25, 60325 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Michael Curry
- Function, Evolution and Anatomy Research Lab, School of Environmental and Rural Science, University of New England, Armidale, New South Wales 2351, Australia
| | - Todd C Rae
- Centre for Research in Evolutionary and Environmental Anthropology, University of Roehampton, London, UK
| | - Todd R Yokley
- Metropolitan State University of Denver, PO Box 173362, Campus Box 28, Denver, CO 80217-3362, USA
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Marín J, Saladié P, Rodríguez-Hidalgo A, Carbonell E. Neanderthal hunting strategies inferred from mortality profiles within the Abric Romaní sequence. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0186970. [PMID: 29166384 PMCID: PMC5699840 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0186970] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2017] [Accepted: 10/11/2017] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Ungulate mortality profiles are commonly used to study Neanderthal subsistence strategies. To assess the hunting strategies used by Neanderthals, we studied the ages at death of the cervids and equids found in levels E, H, I, Ja, Jb, K, L and M of the Abric Romaní sequence. These levels date between 43.2 ± 1.1 ka BP (14C AMS) and 54.5 ± 1.7 ka BP (U-series). The degree of eruption and development of the teeth and their wear stages were used to determine the ages of these animals at death, and mortality profiles were constructed using these data. The equids display prime dominated profiles in all of the analyzed levels, whereas the cervids display variable profiles. These results suggest that the Neanderthals of Abric Romaní employed both selective and non-selective hunting strategies. The selective strategy focused on the hunting of prime adults and generated prime dominated profiles. On the other hand, non-selective strategies, involved the consumption of animals of variable ages, resulting in catastrophic profiles. It is likely that in the selective hunting events were conducted using selective ambushes in which it was possible to select specific prey animals. On the other hand, encounter hunting or non-selective ambush hunting may have also been used at times, based on the abundances of prey animals and encounter rates. Specific hunting strategies would have been developed accordance with the taxa and the age of the individual to be hunted. The hunting groups most likely employed cooperative hunting techniques, especially in the capture of large animals. Thus, it is not possible to uniquely associate a single mortality profile with the predation tactics of Neanderthals at Abric Romaní.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juan Marín
- Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle (MNHN), Institut de Paléontologie Humaine (IPH), 1 rue René Panhard, Paris, France
- Equipo de Investigación Primeros Pobladores de Extremadura. Casa de la Cultura Rodríguez Moñino, Avd. Cervantes s/n, Cáceres, Spain
- * E-mail:
| | - Palmira Saladié
- IPHES, Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social, Unit associated with the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Zona Educacional 4, Campus Sescelades URV (Edifici W3), Tarragona, Spain
- Área de Prehistoria, Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV), Avinguda de Catalunya 35, Tarragona, Spain
- GQP-CG, Grupo Quaternário e Pré-História do Centro de Geociências (uI and D 73 –FCT) Maçao, Portugal
- Unit associated to CSIC. Departamento de Paleobiologia. Museo Nacional d Ciencias Naturales, C/ José Gutierrez Abazcal, Madrid, Spain
| | - Antonio Rodríguez-Hidalgo
- Equipo de Investigación Primeros Pobladores de Extremadura. Casa de la Cultura Rodríguez Moñino, Avd. Cervantes s/n, Cáceres, Spain
- Department of Prehistory, Complutense University, Prof. Aranguren s/n, Madrid, Spain
- IDEA (Instituto de Evolución en África), Calle Covarrubias 36, Madrid, Spain
| | - Eudald Carbonell
- IPHES, Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social, Unit associated with the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Zona Educacional 4, Campus Sescelades URV (Edifici W3), Tarragona, Spain
- Área de Prehistoria, Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV), Avinguda de Catalunya 35, Tarragona, Spain
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26
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Knight-Sadler J, Fiorenza L. Tooth Wear Inclination in Great Ape Molars. Folia Primatol (Basel) 2017; 88:223-236. [DOI: 10.1159/000478775] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2016] [Accepted: 06/18/2017] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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27
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Krueger KL, Ungar PS, Guatelli-Steinberg D, Hublin JJ, Pérez-Pérez A, Trinkaus E, Willman JC. Anterior dental microwear textures show habitat-driven variability in Neandertal behavior. J Hum Evol 2017; 105:13-23. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2017.01.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2015] [Revised: 09/23/2016] [Accepted: 01/05/2017] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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28
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Estalrrich A, El Zaatari S, Rosas A. Dietary reconstruction of the El Sidrón Neandertal familial group (Spain) in the context of other Neandertal and modern hunter-gatherer groups. A molar microwear texture analysis. J Hum Evol 2017; 104:13-22. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2016.12.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2016] [Revised: 12/19/2016] [Accepted: 12/20/2016] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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29
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Abstract
The last decade has seen a significant growth of our knowledge of the Neandertals, a population of Pleistocene hunter-gatherers who lived in (western) Eurasia between ∼400,000 and 40,000 y ago. Starting from a source population deep in the Middle Pleistocene, the hundreds of thousands of years of relative separation between African and Eurasian groups led to the emergence of different phenotypes in Late Pleistocene Europe and Africa. Both recently obtained genetic evidence and archeological data show that the biological and cultural gaps between these populations were probably smaller than previously thought. These data, reviewed here, falsify inferences to the effect that, compared with their near-modern contemporaries in Africa, Neandertals were outliers in terms of behavioral complexity. It is only around 40,000 y ago, tens of thousands of years after anatomically modern humans first left Africa and thousands of years after documented interbreeding between modern humans, Neandertals and Denisovans, that we see major changes in the archeological record, from western Eurasia to Southeast Asia, e.g., the emergence of representational imagery and the colonization of arctic areas and of greater Australia (Sahul).
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30
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31
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Naito YI, Chikaraishi Y, Drucker DG, Ohkouchi N, Semal P, Wißing C, Bocherens H. Ecological niche of Neanderthals from Spy Cave revealed by nitrogen isotopes of individual amino acids in collagen. J Hum Evol 2016; 93:82-90. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2016.01.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2014] [Revised: 11/07/2015] [Accepted: 01/31/2016] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
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32
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Ben-Dor M, Gopher A, Barkai R. Neandertals' large lower thorax may represent adaptation to high protein diet. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2016; 160:367-78. [DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.22981] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2015] [Revised: 11/10/2015] [Accepted: 02/24/2016] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Miki Ben-Dor
- Department of Archaeology and Ancient near East Cultures; Tel Aviv University; Tel Aviv 69978 Israel
| | - Avi Gopher
- Department of Archaeology and Ancient near East Cultures; Tel Aviv University; Tel Aviv 69978 Israel
| | - Ran Barkai
- Department of Archaeology and Ancient near East Cultures; Tel Aviv University; Tel Aviv 69978 Israel
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33
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Power RC, Salazar-García DC, Wittig RM, Freiberg M, Henry AG. Dental calculus evidence of Taï Forest Chimpanzee plant consumption and life history transitions. Sci Rep 2015; 5:15161. [PMID: 26481858 PMCID: PMC4611876 DOI: 10.1038/srep15161] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2015] [Accepted: 09/17/2015] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Dental calculus (calcified dental plaque) is a source of multiple types of data on life history. Recent research has targeted the plant microremains preserved in this mineralised deposit as a source of dietary and health information for recent and past populations. However, it is unclear to what extent we can interpret behaviour from microremains. Few studies to date have directly compared the microremain record from dental calculus to dietary records, and none with long-term observation dietary records, thus limiting how we can interpret diet, food acquisition and behaviour. Here we present a high-resolution analysis of calculus microremains from wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) of Taï National Park, Côte d’Ivoire. We test microremain assemblages against more than two decades of field behavioural observations to establish the ability of calculus to capture the composition of diet. Our results show that some microremain classes accumulate as long-lived dietary markers. Phytolith abundance in calculus can reflect the proportions of plants in the diet, yet this pattern is not true for starches. We also report microremains can record information about other dietary behaviours, such as the age of weaning and learned food processing techniques like nut-cracking.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert C Power
- Max Planck Research Group on Plant Foods in Hominin Dietary Ecology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary. Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Domingo C Salazar-García
- Department of Archaeology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.,Departament de Prehistòria y Arqueologia, Universitat de València, València, Spain.,Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Roman M Wittig
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany.,Taï Chimpanzee Project, Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques, Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire
| | - Martin Freiberg
- Institute of Botany, University of Leipzig, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Amanda G Henry
- Max Planck Research Group on Plant Foods in Hominin Dietary Ecology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary. Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
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34
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Monge G, Jimenez-Espejo FJ, García-Alix A, Martínez-Ruiz F, Mattielli N, Finlayson C, Ohkouchi N, Sánchez MC, de Castro JMB, Blasco R, Rosell J, Carrión J, Rodríguez-Vidal J, Finlayson G. Earliest evidence of pollution by heavy metals in archaeological sites. Sci Rep 2015; 5:14252. [PMID: 26388184 PMCID: PMC4585679 DOI: 10.1038/srep14252] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2015] [Accepted: 08/21/2015] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Homo species were exposed to a new biogeochemical environment when they began to occupy caves. Here we report the first evidence of palaeopollution through geochemical analyses of heavy metals in four renowned archaeological caves of the Iberian Peninsula spanning the last million years of human evolution. Heavy metal contents reached high values due to natural (guano deposition) and anthropogenic factors (e.g. combustion) in restricted cave environments. The earliest anthropogenic pollution evidence is related to Neanderthal hearths from Gorham's Cave (Gibraltar), being one of the first milestones in the so-called “Anthropocene”. According to its heavy metal concentration, these sediments meet the present-day standards of “contaminated soil”. Together with the former, the Gibraltar Vanguard Cave, shows Zn and Cu pollution ubiquitous across highly anthropic levels pointing to these elements as potential proxies for human activities. Pb concentrations in Magdalenian and Bronze age levels at El Pirulejo site can be similarly interpreted. Despite these high pollution levels, the contaminated soils might not have posed a major threat to Homo populations. Altogether, the data presented here indicate a long-term exposure of Homo to these elements, via fires, fumes and their ashes, which could have played certain role in environmental-pollution tolerance, a hitherto neglected influence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guadalupe Monge
- Departamento de Cristalografía, Mineralogía y Química Agrícola, Facultad de Química, Universidad de Sevilla, Spain
| | | | | | | | - Nadine Mattielli
- Laboratoire G-Time, DSTE, Université Libre Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, Belgium
| | - Clive Finlayson
- The Gibraltar Museum, Gibraltar, UK.,Institute of Life and Earth Sciences, The University of Gibraltar, Gibraltar
| | - Naohiko Ohkouchi
- Department of Biogeochemistry, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, Yokosuka, Japan
| | - Miguel Cortés Sánchez
- Departamento de Prehistoria y Arqueología, Facultad de Geografía e Historia, Universidad de Sevilla, Sevilla, Spain
| | - Jose María Bermúdez de Castro
- Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana (CENIEH) Burgos, Spain.,University College London Anthropology, London, UK
| | - Ruth Blasco
- Departament de Prehistòria, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Jordi Rosell
- Àrea de Prehistòria, Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV), Tarragona, Spain.,Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES), Tarragona, Spain
| | - José Carrión
- Departamento de Biología Vegetal, Universidad de Murcia, Murcia, Spain
| | - Joaquín Rodríguez-Vidal
- Departamento de Geodinámica y Paleontología, Facultad de Ciencias Experimentales, Universidad de Huelva, Huelva, Spain
| | - Geraldine Finlayson
- The Gibraltar Museum, Gibraltar, UK.,Institute of Life and Earth Sciences, The University of Gibraltar, Gibraltar
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