1
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Slimak L, Vimala T, Seguin-Orlando A, Metz L, Zanolli C, Joannes-Boyau R, Frouin M, Arnold LJ, Demuro M, Devièse T, Comeskey D, Buckley M, Camus H, Muth X, Lewis JE, Bocherens H, Yvorra P, Tenailleau C, Duployer B, Coqueugniot H, Dutour O, Higham T, Sikora M. Long genetic and social isolation in Neanderthals before their extinction. CELL GENOMICS 2024; 4:100593. [PMID: 39265525 DOI: 10.1016/j.xgen.2024.100593] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2023] [Revised: 11/23/2023] [Accepted: 06/05/2024] [Indexed: 09/14/2024]
Abstract
Neanderthal genomes have been recovered from sites across Eurasia, painting an increasingly complex picture of their populations' structure that mostly indicates that late European Neanderthals belonged to a single metapopulation with no significant evidence of population structure. Here, we report the discovery of a late Neanderthal individual, nicknamed "Thorin," from Grotte Mandrin in Mediterranean France, and his genome. These dentognathic fossils, including a rare example of distomolars, are associated with a rich archeological record of Neanderthal final technological traditions in this region ∼50-42 thousand years ago. Thorin's genome reveals a relatively early divergence of ∼105 ka with other late Neanderthals. Thorin belonged to a population with a small group size that showed no genetic introgression with other known late European Neanderthals, revealing some 50 ka of genetic isolation of his lineage despite them living in neighboring regions. These results have important implications for resolving competing hypotheses about causes of the disappearance of the Neanderthals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ludovic Slimak
- Centre d'Anthropobiologie et de Génomique de Toulouse (CNRS UMR 5288), Université Paul Sabatier, Faculté de Santé, Bâtiment A, 37 allées Jules Guesde, 31000 Toulouse, France.
| | - Tharsika Vimala
- Lundbeck Foundation GeoGenetics Center, University of Copenhagen, 1350K Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Andaine Seguin-Orlando
- Centre d'Anthropobiologie et de Génomique de Toulouse (CNRS UMR 5288), Université Paul Sabatier, Faculté de Santé, Bâtiment A, 37 allées Jules Guesde, 31000 Toulouse, France; Lundbeck Foundation GeoGenetics Center, University of Copenhagen, 1350K Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Laure Metz
- Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, Min. Culture, UMR 7269, LAMPEA, Maison Méditerranéenne des Sciences de l'Homme, BP 647, 5 rue du Château de l'Horloge, 13094 Aix-en-Provence Cedex 2, France; University of Connecticut, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, 215 Glenbrook Road, U-4098, Storrs, CT 06269-4098, USA
| | - Clément Zanolli
- Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, MCC, PACEA, UMR 5199, 33600 Pessac, France
| | - Renaud Joannes-Boyau
- Geoarchaeology & Archaeometry Research Group (GARG), Southern Cross University, Military Rd., Lismore, NSW 2480, Australia
| | - Marine Frouin
- Department of Geosciences, Stony Brook University, 255 Earth and Space Sciences Building, Stony Brook, NY 11794-2100, USA; Turkana Basin Institute, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-4364, USA
| | - Lee J Arnold
- School of Physical Sciences, Environment Institute, Institute for Photonics and Advanced Sensing (IPAS), University of Adelaide, North Terrace Campus, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia
| | - Martina Demuro
- School of Physical Sciences, Environment Institute, Institute for Photonics and Advanced Sensing (IPAS), University of Adelaide, North Terrace Campus, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia
| | - Thibaut Devièse
- CEREGE, Aix-Marseille University, CNRS, IRD, INRAE, Collège de France, Technopôle de l'Arbois, Aix-en-Provence, France
| | - Daniel Comeskey
- Syft Technologies Ltd., 3 Craft Place, Middleton, PO Box 28 149, Christchurch 8242, New Zealand
| | - Michael Buckley
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
| | - Hubert Camus
- PROTEE-EXPERT, 4 rue des Aspholdèles, 34750 Villeneuve-lès-Maguelone, France
| | - Xavier Muth
- Get in Situ, 1091 Bourg-en-Lavaux, Switzerland
| | - Jason E Lewis
- Turkana Basin Institute, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-4364, USA; Chronicle Heritage, 319 E Palm Lane, Phoenix, AZ 85004, USA
| | - Hervé Bocherens
- Fachbereich Geowissenschaften Forschungsbereich Paläobiologie - Biogeologie Senckenberg, Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment (SHEP), Universität Tübingen, Hölderlinstr. 12, 72074 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Pascale Yvorra
- Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, Min. Culture, UMR 7269, LAMPEA, Maison Méditerranéenne des Sciences de l'Homme, BP 647, 5 rue du Château de l'Horloge, 13094 Aix-en-Provence Cedex 2, France
| | - Christophe Tenailleau
- Centre Inter-Universitaire de Recherche et d'Ingénierie des Matériaux, UMR 5085 CNRS-Université de Toulouse (Paul Sabatier), 118 route de Narbonne, 31062 Toulouse Cedex 9, France
| | - Benjamin Duployer
- Centre Inter-Universitaire de Recherche et d'Ingénierie des Matériaux, UMR 5085 CNRS-Université de Toulouse (Paul Sabatier), 118 route de Narbonne, 31062 Toulouse Cedex 9, France
| | - Hélène Coqueugniot
- École Pratique des Hautes Études - Paris Sciences et Lettres University, 4-14 rue Ferrus, 75014 Paris, France; University of Bordeaux-Montaigne, CNRS, EPHE, Archéosciences, UMR 6034, 33607 Pessac, France
| | - Olivier Dutour
- École Pratique des Hautes Études - Paris Sciences et Lettres University, 4-14 rue Ferrus, 75014 Paris, France; University of Bordeaux-Montaigne, CNRS, EPHE, Archéosciences, UMR 6034, 33607 Pessac, France
| | - Thomas Higham
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Vienna, Djerassiplatz 1, 1030 Vienna, Austria; Human Evolution and Archaeological Sciences Forschungsverbund, University of Vienna, Vienna 1090, Austria
| | - Martin Sikora
- Lundbeck Foundation GeoGenetics Center, University of Copenhagen, 1350K Copenhagen, Denmark.
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2
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Sala N, Alcaraz-Castaño M, Arriolabengoa M, Martínez-Pillado V, Pantoja-Pérez A, Rodríguez-Hidalgo A, Téllez E, Cubas M, Castillo S, Arnold LJ, Demuro M, Duval M, Arteaga-Brieba A, Llamazares J, Ochando J, Cuenca-Bescós G, Marín-Arroyo AB, Seijo MM, Luque L, Alonso-Llamazares C, Arlegi M, Rodríguez-Almagro M, Calvo-Simal C, Izquierdo B, Cuartero F, Torres-Iglesias L, Agudo-Pérez L, Arribas A, Carrión JS, Magri D, Zhao JX, Pablos A. Nobody's land? The oldest evidence of early Upper Paleolithic settlements in inland Iberia. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2024; 10:eado3807. [PMID: 38924409 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.ado3807] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2024] [Accepted: 05/17/2024] [Indexed: 06/28/2024]
Abstract
The Iberian Peninsula is a key region for unraveling human settlement histories of Eurasia during the period spanning the decline of Neandertals and the emergence of anatomically modern humans (AMH). There is no evidence of human occupation in central Iberia after the disappearance of Neandertals ~42,000 years ago until approximately 26,000 years ago, rendering the region "nobody's land" during the Aurignacian period. The Abrigo de la Malia provides irrefutable evidence of human settlements dating back to 36,200 to 31,760 calibrated years before the present (cal B.P.) This site also records additional levels of occupation around 32,420 to 26,260 cal B.P., suggesting repeated settlement of this territory. Our multiproxy examination identifies a change in climate trending toward colder and more arid conditions. However, this climatic deterioration does not appear to have affected AMH subsistence strategies or their capacity to inhabit this region. These findings reveal the ability of AMH groups to colonize regions hitherto considered uninhabitable, reopening the debate on early Upper Paleolithic population dynamics of southwestern Europe.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nohemi Sala
- Centro Nacional de Investigación Sobre Evolución Humana (CENIEH), Burgos, Spain
- Centro Mixto UCM-ISCIII de Evolución y Comportamiento Humanos, Madrid, Spain
| | - Manuel Alcaraz-Castaño
- Área de Prehistoria, Departamento de Historia y Filosofía, Universidad de Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, Spain
| | - Martin Arriolabengoa
- Departamento de Geología, Facultad de Ciencia y Tecnología, Universidad del País Vasco-Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea (UPV/EHU), Leioa, Spain
| | - Virginia Martínez-Pillado
- Centro Nacional de Investigación Sobre Evolución Humana (CENIEH), Burgos, Spain
- Centro Mixto UCM-ISCIII de Evolución y Comportamiento Humanos, Madrid, Spain
| | - Ana Pantoja-Pérez
- Centro Nacional de Investigación Sobre Evolución Humana (CENIEH), Burgos, Spain
- Centro Mixto UCM-ISCIII de Evolución y Comportamiento Humanos, Madrid, Spain
| | - Antonio Rodríguez-Hidalgo
- Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Instituto de Arqueología-Mérida (CSIC-Junta de Extremadura), Mérida, Spain
- Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES-CERCA), Tarragona, Spain
| | - Edgar Téllez
- Centro Nacional de Investigación Sobre Evolución Humana (CENIEH), Burgos, Spain
| | - Miriam Cubas
- Área de Prehistoria, Departamento de Historia y Filosofía, Universidad de Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, Spain
| | - Samuel Castillo
- Área de Prehistoria, Departamento de Historia y Filosofía, Universidad de Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, Spain
| | - Lee J Arnold
- School of Physics, Chemistry and Earth Sciences, Environment Institute, and Institute for Photonics and Advanced Sensing (IPAS), University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia
| | - Martina Demuro
- School of Physics, Chemistry and Earth Sciences, Environment Institute, and Institute for Photonics and Advanced Sensing (IPAS), University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia
| | - Mathieu Duval
- Centro Nacional de Investigación Sobre Evolución Humana (CENIEH), Burgos, Spain
- Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution, Griffith University, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
- Palaeoscience Laboratories, Department of Archaeology and History, La Trobe University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Andion Arteaga-Brieba
- Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES-CERCA), Tarragona, Spain
| | - Javier Llamazares
- Centro Nacional de Investigación Sobre Evolución Humana (CENIEH), Burgos, Spain
| | - Juan Ochando
- Department of Plant Biology (Botany Area), Faculty of Biology, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain
- Department of Environmental Biology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Gloria Cuenca-Bescós
- Aragosaurus-IUCA-Departamento Ciencias de la Tierra, Universidad de Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain
| | - Ana B Marín-Arroyo
- Grupo de I+D+i EVOADAPTA (Evolución Humana y Adaptaciones Durante la Prehistoria), Departamento de Ciencias Históricas, Universidad de Cantabria, Santander, Spain
| | - María Martín Seijo
- Instituto de Ciencias del Patrimonio (INCIPIT), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Santiago de Compostela, Spain
| | - Luis Luque
- Área de Prehistoria, Departamento de Historia y Filosofía, Universidad de Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, Spain
| | - Carmen Alonso-Llamazares
- Departamento de Biología Animal, Ecología, Parasitología, Edafología y Química Agrícola, Universidad de Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain
| | - Mikel Arlegi
- McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3ER, UK
| | | | - Cecilia Calvo-Simal
- Centro Nacional de Investigación Sobre Evolución Humana (CENIEH), Burgos, Spain
| | | | - Felipe Cuartero
- Área de Prehistoria, Departamento de Historia y Filosofía, Universidad de Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, Spain
| | - Leire Torres-Iglesias
- Grupo de I+D+i EVOADAPTA (Evolución Humana y Adaptaciones Durante la Prehistoria), Departamento de Ciencias Históricas, Universidad de Cantabria, Santander, Spain
| | - Lucía Agudo-Pérez
- Grupo de I+D+i EVOADAPTA (Evolución Humana y Adaptaciones Durante la Prehistoria), Departamento de Ciencias Históricas, Universidad de Cantabria, Santander, Spain
| | - Alfonso Arribas
- Estación Paleontológica Valle del río Fardes, Instituto Geológico y Minero de España (IGME), Tres Cantos, Madrid, Spain
| | - José S Carrión
- Department of Plant Biology (Botany Area), Faculty of Biology, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain
| | - Donatella Magri
- Department of Environmental Biology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - J-X Zhao
- Radiogenic Isotope Facility, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Adrián Pablos
- Centro Nacional de Investigación Sobre Evolución Humana (CENIEH), Burgos, Spain
- Centro Mixto UCM-ISCIII de Evolución y Comportamiento Humanos, Madrid, Spain
- Departamento de Geodinámica, Estratigrafía y Paleontología, Facultad de Ciencias Geológicas, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
- Departamento de Prehistoria y Arqueología, Universidad de Sevilla, Sevilla, Spain
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3
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Smith GM, Ruebens K, Zavala EI, Sinet-Mathiot V, Fewlass H, Pederzani S, Jaouen K, Mylopotamitaki D, Britton K, Rougier H, Stahlschmidt M, Meyer M, Meller H, Dietl H, Orschiedt J, Krause J, Schüler T, McPherron SP, Weiss M, Hublin JJ, Welker F. The ecology, subsistence and diet of ~45,000-year-old Homo sapiens at Ilsenhöhle in Ranis, Germany. Nat Ecol Evol 2024; 8:564-577. [PMID: 38297138 PMCID: PMC10927544 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-023-02303-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2023] [Accepted: 12/07/2023] [Indexed: 02/02/2024]
Abstract
Recent excavations at Ranis (Germany) identified an early dispersal of Homo sapiens into the higher latitudes of Europe by 45,000 years ago. Here we integrate results from zooarchaeology, palaeoproteomics, sediment DNA and stable isotopes to characterize the ecology, subsistence and diet of these early H. sapiens. We assessed all bone remains (n = 1,754) from the 2016-2022 excavations through morphology (n = 1,218) or palaeoproteomics (zooarchaeology by mass spectrometry (n = 536) and species by proteome investigation (n = 212)). Dominant taxa include reindeer, cave bear, woolly rhinoceros and horse, indicating cold climatic conditions. Numerous carnivore modifications, alongside sparse cut-marked and burnt bones, illustrate a predominant use of the site by hibernating cave bears and denning hyaenas, coupled with a fluctuating human presence. Faunal diversity and high carnivore input were further supported by ancient mammalian DNA recovered from 26 sediment samples. Bulk collagen carbon and nitrogen stable isotope data from 52 animal and 10 human remains confirm a cold steppe/tundra setting and indicate a homogenous human diet based on large terrestrial mammals. This lower-density archaeological signature matches other Lincombian-Ranisian-Jerzmanowician sites and is best explained by expedient visits of short duration by small, mobile groups of pioneer H. sapiens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Geoff M Smith
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany.
- School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Kent, UK.
| | - Karen Ruebens
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Chaire de Paléoanthropologie, CIRB (UMR 7241-U1050), Collège de France, Paris, France
| | - Elena Irene Zavala
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
- Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Virginie Sinet-Mathiot
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, Ministère de la Culture, PACEA, UMR 5199, Pessac, France
| | - Helen Fewlass
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Ancient Genomics Lab, Francis Crick Institute, London, UK
| | - Sarah Pederzani
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Archaeological Micromorphology and Biomarker Lab, University of La Laguna, San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Spain
| | - Klervia Jaouen
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Géosciences Environnement Toulouse (GET), Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées (OMP), Toulouse, France
| | - Dorothea Mylopotamitaki
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Chaire de Paléoanthropologie, CIRB (UMR 7241-U1050), Collège de France, Paris, France
| | - Kate Britton
- Department of Archaeology, School of Geosciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, Scotland
| | - Hélène Rougier
- Department of Anthropology, California State University Northridge, Northridge, CA, USA
| | - Mareike Stahlschmidt
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Human Evolution and Archaeological Sciences (HEAS), University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Matthias Meyer
- Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Harald Meller
- State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology Saxony-Anhalt-State Museum of Prehistory, Halle, Germany
| | - Holger Dietl
- State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology Saxony-Anhalt-State Museum of Prehistory, Halle, Germany
| | - Jörg Orschiedt
- State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology Saxony-Anhalt-State Museum of Prehistory, Halle, Germany
| | - Johannes Krause
- Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Tim Schüler
- Thuringian State Office for the Preservation of Historical Monuments and Archaeology, Weimar, Germany
| | - Shannon P McPherron
- Department of Human Origins, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Marcel Weiss
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Institut für Ur- und Frühgeschichte, Erlangen, Germany
| | - Jean-Jacques Hublin
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Chaire de Paléoanthropologie, CIRB (UMR 7241-U1050), Collège de France, Paris, France
| | - Frido Welker
- Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
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4
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Reade H, Tripp JA, Frémondeau D, Sayle KL, Higham TFG, Street M, Stevens RE. Nitrogen palaeo-isoscapes: Changing spatial gradients of faunal δ15N in late Pleistocene and early Holocene Europe. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0268607. [PMID: 36745587 PMCID: PMC9901814 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0268607] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2022] [Accepted: 01/22/2023] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Nitrogen isotope ratio analysis (δ15N) of animal tissue is widely used in archaeology and palaeoecology to investigate diet and ecological niche. Data interpretations require an understanding of nitrogen isotope compositions at the base of the food web (baseline δ15N). Significant variation in animal δ15N has been recognised at various spatiotemporal scales and related to changes both in baseline δ15N, linked to environmental and climatic influence on the terrestrial nitrogen cycle, and animal ecology. Isoscapes (models of isotope spatial variation) have proved a useful tool for investigating spatial variability in biogeochemical cycles in present-day marine and terrestrial ecosystems, but so far, their application to palaeo-data has been more limited. Here, we present time-sliced nitrogen isoscapes for late Pleistocene and early Holocene Europe (c. 50,000 to 10,000 years BP) using herbivore collagen δ15N data. This period covers the Last Glacial-Interglacial Transition, during which significant variation in the terrestrial nitrogen cycle occurred. We use generalized linear mixed modelling approaches for interpolation and test models which both include and exclude climate covariate data. Our results show clear changes in spatial gradients of δ15N through time. Prediction of the lowest faunal δ15N values in northern latitudes after, rather than during, the Last Glacial Maximum is consistent with the Late Glacial Nitrogen Excursion (LGNE). We find that including climatic covariate data does not significantly improve model performance. These findings have implications for investigating the drivers of the LGNE, which has been linked to increased landscape moisture and permafrost thaw, and for understanding changing isotopic baselines, which are fundamental for studies investigating diets, niche partitioning, and migration of higher trophic level animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hazel Reade
- UCL Institute of Archaeology, University College London, London, United Kingdom
- * E-mail:
| | - Jennifer A. Tripp
- UCL Institute of Archaeology, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Delphine Frémondeau
- UCL Institute of Archaeology, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Kerry L. Sayle
- Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre, Glasgow, United Kingdom
| | - Thomas F. G. Higham
- Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Martin Street
- Römisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum, Forschungsinstitut für Archäologie Kompetenzbereich Pleistozäne und Frühholozäne Archäologie, Neuwied, Germany
| | - Rhiannon E. Stevens
- UCL Institute of Archaeology, University College London, London, United Kingdom
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5
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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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6
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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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7
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Ben-Dor M, Sirtoli R, Barkai R. The evolution of the human trophic level during the Pleistocene. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2021; 175 Suppl 72:27-56. [PMID: 33675083 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24247] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2020] [Revised: 12/07/2020] [Accepted: 01/19/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
The human trophic level (HTL) during the Pleistocene and its degree of variability serve, explicitly or tacitly, as the basis of many explanations for human evolution, behavior, and culture. Previous attempts to reconstruct the HTL have relied heavily on an analogy with recent hunter-gatherer groups' diets. In addition to technological differences, recent findings of substantial ecological differences between the Pleistocene and the Anthropocene cast doubt regarding that analogy's validity. Surprisingly little systematic evolution-guided evidence served to reconstruct HTL. Here, we reconstruct the HTL during the Pleistocene by reviewing evidence for the impact of the HTL on the biological, ecological, and behavioral systems derived from various existing studies. We adapt a paleobiological and paleoecological approach, including evidence from human physiology and genetics, archaeology, paleontology, and zoology, and identified 25 sources of evidence in total. The evidence shows that the trophic level of the Homo lineage that most probably led to modern humans evolved from a low base to a high, carnivorous position during the Pleistocene, beginning with Homo habilis and peaking in Homo erectus. A reversal of that trend appears in the Upper Paleolithic, strengthening in the Mesolithic/Epipaleolithic and Neolithic, and culminating with the advent of agriculture. We conclude that it is possible to reach a credible reconstruction of the HTL without relying on a simple analogy with recent hunter-gatherers' diets. The memory of an adaptation to a trophic level that is embedded in modern humans' biology in the form of genetics, metabolism, and morphology is a fruitful line of investigation of past HTLs, whose potential we have only started to explore.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miki Ben-Dor
- Department of Archaeology, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | | | - Ran Barkai
- Department of Archaeology, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
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8
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Reconstructing Late Pleistocene paleoclimate at the scale of human behavior: an example from the Neandertal occupation of La Ferrassie (France). Sci Rep 2021; 11:1419. [PMID: 33446842 PMCID: PMC7809458 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-80777-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2020] [Accepted: 12/23/2020] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Exploring the role of changing climates in human evolution is currently impeded by a scarcity of climatic information at the same temporal scale as the human behaviors documented in archaeological sites. This is mainly caused by high uncertainties in the chronometric dates used to correlate long-term climatic records with archaeological deposits. One solution is to generate climatic data directly from archaeological materials representing human behavior. Here we use oxygen isotope measurements of Bos/Bison tooth enamel to reconstruct summer and winter temperatures in the Late Pleistocene when Neandertals were using the site of La Ferrassie. Our results indicate that, despite the generally cold conditions of the broader period and despite direct evidence for cold features in certain sediments at the site, Neandertals used the site predominantly when climatic conditions were mild, similar to conditions in modern day France. We suggest that due to millennial scale climate variability, the periods of human activity and their climatic characteristics may not be representative of average conditions inferred from chronological correlations with long-term climatic records. These results highlight the importance of using direct routes, such as the high-resolution archives in tooth enamel from anthropogenically accumulated faunal assemblages, to establish climatic conditions at a human scale.
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9
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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: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [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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10
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Naito YI, Meleg IN, Robu M, Vlaicu M, Drucker DG, Wißing C, Hofreiter M, Barlow A, Bocherens H. Heavy reliance on plants for Romanian cave bears evidenced by amino acid nitrogen isotope analysis. Sci Rep 2020; 10:6612. [PMID: 32313007 PMCID: PMC7170912 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-62990-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2019] [Accepted: 03/19/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Heavy reliance on plants is rare in Carnivora and mostly limited to relatively small species in subtropical settings. The feeding behaviors of extinct cave bears living during Pleistocene cold periods at middle latitudes have been intensely studied using various approaches including isotopic analyses of fossil collagen. In contrast to cave bears from all other regions in Europe, some individuals from Romania show exceptionally high δ15N values that might be indicative of meat consumption. Herbivory on plants with high δ15N values cannot be ruled out based on this method, however. Here we apply an approach using the δ15N values of individual amino acids from collagen that offsets the baseline δ15N variation among environments. The analysis yielded strong signals of reliance on plants for Romanian cave bears based on the δ15N values of glutamate and phenylalanine. These results could suggest that the high variability in bulk collagen δ15N values observed among cave bears in Romania reflects niche partitioning but in a general trophic context of herbivory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuichi I Naito
- Department of Geosciences, Biogeology, University of Tübingen, Hölderlinstraße 12, 72074, Tübingen, Germany.
- Nagoya University Museum, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, 464-8601, Japan.
| | - Ioana N Meleg
- "Emil Racoviță" Institute of Speleology, Romanian Academy, Calea 13 Septembrie, nr. 13, 050711, Sector 5, Bucharest, Romania.
| | - Marius Robu
- "Emil Racoviță" Institute of Speleology, Romanian Academy, Calea 13 Septembrie, nr. 13, 050711, Sector 5, Bucharest, Romania
| | - Marius Vlaicu
- "Emil Racoviță" Institute of Speleology, Romanian Academy, Calea 13 Septembrie, nr. 13, 050711, Sector 5, Bucharest, Romania
| | - Dorothée G Drucker
- Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment (S-HEP), University of Tübingen, Hölderlinstraße 12, 72074, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Christoph Wißing
- Department of Geosciences, Biogeology, University of Tübingen, Hölderlinstraße 12, 72074, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Michael Hofreiter
- Institute for Biochemistry and Biology, Faculty for Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Potsdam, Karl-Liebknecht-Str. 24-25, 14476, Potsdam, OT Golm, Germany
| | - Axel Barlow
- Institute for Biochemistry and Biology, Faculty for Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Potsdam, Karl-Liebknecht-Str. 24-25, 14476, Potsdam, OT Golm, Germany
- School of Science and Technology, Nottingham Trent University, Clifton Lane, Nottingham, NG11 8NS, UK
| | - Hervé Bocherens
- Department of Geosciences, Biogeology, University of Tübingen, Hölderlinstraße 12, 72074, Tübingen, Germany
- Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment (S-HEP), University of Tübingen, Hölderlinstraße 12, 72074, Tübingen, Germany
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11
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Jones JR, Marín-Arroyo AB, Straus LG, Richards MP. Adaptability, resilience and environmental buffering in European Refugia during the Late Pleistocene: Insights from La Riera Cave (Asturias, Cantabria, Spain). Sci Rep 2020; 10:1217. [PMID: 31988327 PMCID: PMC6985176 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-57715-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2019] [Accepted: 12/31/2019] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
The Upper Palaeolithic in Europe was a time of extensive climatic changes that impacted on the survival and distribution of human populations. During the Late Glacial Maximum (LGM), southern European peninsulas were refugia for flora, fauna, and human groups. One of these refugia, the Cantabrian region (northern Atlantic Spain), was intensively occupied throughout the Upper Palaeolithic. Characterising how climatic events were expressed in local environments is crucial to understand human and animal survival. La Riera Cave (Asturias) has a rich geo-cultural sequence dating between 20.5kyr BP to 6.5kyr BP and represents an ideal location in which to explore this. Stable isotope analysis of red deer and ibex is used alongside other environmental and climatic proxies to reconstruct Late Upper Palaeolithic conditions. Results show that during the LGM, ibex adapted their niche to survive, and became a major prey species for humans. The diverse environmental opportunities offered in the high-relief and coastal environs of La Riera may help to explain the high human population levels in the Cantabrian Region throughout the Late Upper Palaeolithic. Despite fluctuating conditions, herbivores and humans had the flexibility and resilience to adapt, demonstrating the importance of southern European refugia for the survival of different species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer R Jones
- Instituto Internacional de Investigaciones Prehistóricas de Cantabria, (Universidad de Cantabria, Santander, Gobierno de Cantabria), Santander, 39005, Spain.
| | - Ana B Marín-Arroyo
- Instituto Internacional de Investigaciones Prehistóricas de Cantabria, (Universidad de Cantabria, Santander, Gobierno de Cantabria), Santander, 39005, Spain
| | - Lawrence G Straus
- Department of Anthropology, MSC01 1040, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States of America
| | - Michael P Richards
- Department of Archaeology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
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12
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Swift JA, Bunce M, Dortch J, Douglass K, Faith JT, Fellows Yates JA, Field J, Haberle SG, Jacob E, Johnson CN, Lindsey E, Lorenzen ED, Louys J, Miller G, Mychajliw AM, Slon V, Villavicencio NA, Waters MR, Welker F, Wood R, Petraglia M, Boivin N, Roberts P. Micro Methods for Megafauna: Novel Approaches to Late Quaternary Extinctions and Their Contributions to Faunal Conservation in the Anthropocene. Bioscience 2019; 69:877-887. [PMID: 31719710 PMCID: PMC6829010 DOI: 10.1093/biosci/biz105] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Drivers of Late Quaternary megafaunal extinctions are relevant to modern conservation policy in a world of growing human population density, climate change, and faunal decline. Traditional debates tend toward global solutions, blaming either dramatic climate change or dispersals of Homo sapiens to new regions. Inherent limitations to archaeological and paleontological data sets often require reliance on scant, poorly resolved lines of evidence. However, recent developments in scientific technologies allow for more local, context-specific approaches. In the present article, we highlight how developments in five such methodologies (radiocarbon approaches, stable isotope analysis, ancient DNA, ancient proteomics, microscopy) have helped drive detailed analysis of specific megafaunal species, their particular ecological settings, and responses to new competitors or predators, climate change, and other external phenomena. The detailed case studies of faunal community composition, extinction chronologies, and demographic trends enabled by these methods examine megafaunal extinctions at scales appropriate for practical understanding of threats against particular species in their habitats today.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jillian A Swift
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
- Anthropology Department of Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, Honolulu, Hawai’i
| | - Michael Bunce
- Trace and Environmental DNA Laboratory, School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, Bentley, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Joe Dortch
- Centre for Rock Art Research and Management, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia
| | - Kristina Douglass
- Department of Anthropology and with the Institutes for Energy and the Environment, The Pennsylvania State University, State College, Pennsylvania
| | - J Tyler Faith
- Natural History Museum of Utah and with the Department of Anthropology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah
| | - James A Fellows Yates
- Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
| | - Judith Field
- School of Biological, Earth, and Environmental Science, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
| | - Simon G Haberle
- College of Asia and the Pacific and the School of Culture, History, and Language, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence, Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Eileen Jacob
- Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, University of Oxford, Oxford, England
| | - Chris N Johnson
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence, Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia
- School of Natural Sciences, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Australia
| | - Emily Lindsey
- La Brea Tar Pits and Museum, part of the Natural History Museum, Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, California
| | - Eline D Lorenzen
- Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Julien Louys
- Australian Research Center for Human Evolution, Environmental Futures Research Institute, Griffith University, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Gifford Miller
- INSTAAR and Department of Geological Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder
| | - Alexis M Mychajliw
- La Brea Tar Pits and Museum, part of the Natural History Museum, Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, California
| | - Viviane Slon
- Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Natalia A Villavicencio
- Departamento de Ecología, in the Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
- Instituto de Ecología and Biodiversidad, Santiago, Chile
| | - Michael R Waters
- Center for the Study of the First Americans, the Department of Anthropology, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas
| | - Frido Welker
- Evolutionary Genomics Section of the GLOBE Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark, and with the Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Rachel Wood
- Research School of Earth Sciences, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
| | - Michael Petraglia
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
| | - Nicole Boivin
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
| | - Patrick Roberts
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
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13
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Stable isotopes reveal patterns of diet and mobility in the last Neandertals and first modern humans in Europe. Sci Rep 2019; 9:4433. [PMID: 30872714 PMCID: PMC6418202 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-41033-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2018] [Accepted: 02/27/2019] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Correlating cultural, technological and ecological aspects of both Upper Pleistocene modern humans (UPMHs) and Neandertals provides a useful approach for achieving robust predictions about what makes us human. Here we present ecological information for a period of special relevance in human evolution, the time of replacement of Neandertals by modern humans during the Late Pleistocene in Europe. Using the stable isotopic approach, we shed light on aspects of diet and mobility of the late Neandertals and UPMHs from the cave sites of the Troisième caverne of Goyet and Spy in Belgium. We demonstrate that their diet was essentially similar, relying on the same terrestrial herbivores, whereas mobility strategies indicate considerable differences between Neandertal groups, as well as in comparison to UPMHs. Our results indicate that UPMHs exploited their environment to a greater extent than Neandertals and support the hypothesis that UPMHs had a substantial impact not only on the population dynamics of large mammals but also on the whole structure of the ecosystem since their initial arrival in Europe.
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14
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Jaouen K, Richards MP, Le Cabec A, Welker F, Rendu W, Hublin JJ, Soressi M, Talamo S. Exceptionally high δ 15N values in collagen single amino acids confirm Neandertals as high-trophic level carnivores. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2019; 116:4928-4933. [PMID: 30782806 PMCID: PMC6421459 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1814087116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 72] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Isotope and archeological analyses of Paleolithic food webs have suggested that Neandertal subsistence relied mainly on the consumption of large herbivores. This conclusion was primarily based on elevated nitrogen isotope ratios in Neandertal bone collagen and has been significantly debated. This discussion relies on the observation that similar high nitrogen isotopes values could also be the result of the consumption of mammoths, young animals, putrid meat, cooked food, freshwater fish, carnivores, or mushrooms. Recently, compound-specific C and N isotope analyses of bone collagen amino acids have been demonstrated to add significantly more information about trophic levels and aquatic food consumption. We undertook single amino acid C and N isotope analysis on two Neandertals, which were characterized by exceptionally high N isotope ratios in their bulk bone or tooth collagen. We report here both C and N isotope ratios on single amino acids of collagen samples for these two Neandertals and associated fauna. The samples come from two sites dating to the Middle to Upper Paleolithic transition period (Les Cottés and Grotte du Renne, France). Our results reinforce the interpretation of Neandertal dietary adaptations as successful top-level carnivores, even after the arrival of modern humans in Europe. They also demonstrate that high δ15N values of bone collagen can solely be explained by mammal meat consumption, as supported by archeological and zooarcheological evidence, without necessarily invoking explanations including the processing of food (cooking, fermenting), the consumption of mammoths or young mammals, or additional (freshwater fish, mushrooms) dietary protein sources.
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Affiliation(s)
- Klervia Jaouen
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany;
| | - Michael P Richards
- Department of Archaeology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby BC V5A 1S6, Canada
| | - Adeline Le Cabec
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Frido Welker
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- Evolutionary Genomics, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, DK-1353 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - William Rendu
- De la Préhistoire à l'Actuel: Culture, Environnement et Anthropologie, CNRS-University of Bordeaux, 33615 Pessac, France
| | - Jean-Jacques Hublin
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- Chaire Internationale de Paléoanthropologie, Collège de France, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Marie Soressi
- Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University, 2311 EZ Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Sahra Talamo
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
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15
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Jones JR, Richards MP, Straus LG, Reade H, Altuna J, Mariezkurrena K, Marín-Arroyo AB. Changing environments during the Middle-Upper Palaeolithic transition in the eastern Cantabrian Region (Spain): direct evidence from stable isotope studies on ungulate bones. Sci Rep 2018; 8:14842. [PMID: 30287834 PMCID: PMC6172272 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-32493-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2018] [Accepted: 09/10/2018] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Environmental change has been proposed as a factor that contributed to the extinction of the Neanderthals in Europe during MIS3. Currently, the different local environmental conditions experienced at the time when Anatomically Modern Humans (AMH) met Neanderthals are not well known. In the Western Pyrenees, particularly, in the eastern end of the Cantabrian coast of the Iberian Peninsula, extensive evidence of Neanderthal and subsequent AMH activity exists, making it an ideal area in which to explore the palaeoenvironments experienced and resources exploited by both human species during the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition. Red deer and horse were analysed using bone collagen stable isotope analysis to reconstruct environmental conditions across the transition. A shift in the ecological niche of horses after the Mousterian demonstrates a change in environment, towards more open vegetation, linked to wider climatic change. In the Mousterian, Aurignacian and Gravettian, high inter-individual nitrogen ranges were observed in both herbivores. This could indicate that these individuals were procured from areas isotopically different in nitrogen. Differences in sulphur values between sites suggest some variability in the hunting locations exploited, reflecting the human use of different parts of the landscape. An alternative and complementary explanation proposed is that there were climatic fluctuations within the time of formation of these archaeological levels, as observed in pollen, marine and ice cores.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer R Jones
- Instituto Internacional de Investigaciones Prehistóricas de Cantabria, (Universidad de Cantabria, Santander, Gobierno de Cantabria), Santander, 39005, Spain
- Department of Archaeology, School of Geosciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, AB24 3FX, Scotland, UK
| | - Michael P Richards
- Simon Fraser University, Department of Archaeology, Burnaby, V5A 1S6, B.C, Canada
| | - Lawrence G Straus
- University of New Mexico, Anthropology Department, MSC01 1040, Albuquerque, NM, 87131, USA
| | - Hazel Reade
- UCL Institute of Archaeology, 31-34 Gordon Square, London, WC1H 0PY UK, UK
| | - Jesús Altuna
- Centro de Conservación e Investigación de los Materiales Arqueológicos y Paleontológicos de Gipuzkoa, Paseo Zarategi, 84-88, Donostia/San Sebastián, 20015, Spain
| | - Koro Mariezkurrena
- Centro de Conservación e Investigación de los Materiales Arqueológicos y Paleontológicos de Gipuzkoa, Paseo Zarategi, 84-88, Donostia/San Sebastián, 20015, Spain
| | - Ana B Marín-Arroyo
- Instituto Internacional de Investigaciones Prehistóricas de Cantabria, (Universidad de Cantabria, Santander, Gobierno de Cantabria), Santander, 39005, Spain.
- Leverhulme Centre for Evolutionary Studies, Department of Archaeology and Anthropology. University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 1QH, United Kingdom.
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16
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Goldfield AE, Booton R, Marston JM. Modeling the role of fire and cooking in the competitive exclusion of Neanderthals. J Hum Evol 2018; 124:91-104. [PMID: 30177445 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2018.07.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2017] [Revised: 07/14/2018] [Accepted: 07/16/2018] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The Neanderthal body was more robust and energetically costly than the bodies of anatomically modern humans (AMH). Different metabolic budgets between competing populations of Neanderthals and AMH may have been a factor in the varied ranges of behavior and timelines for Neanderthal extinction that we see in the Paleolithic archaeological record. This paper uses an adaptation of the Lotka-Volterra model to determine whether metabolic differences alone could have accounted for Neanderthal extinction. In addition, we use a modeling approach to investigate Neanderthal fire use, evidence for which is much debated and is variable throughout different climatic phases of the Middle Paleolithic. The increased caloric yield from a cooked versus a raw diet may have played an important role in population competition between Neanderthals and AMH. We arrive at two key conclusions. First, given differences in metabolic budget between Neanderthals and AMH and their dependence on similar or overlapping food resources, Neanderthal extinction is likely inevitable over the long term. Second, the rate of Neanderthal extinction increases as the frequency of AMH fire use increases. Results highlight the importance of understanding the variable behaviors at play on a regional scale in order to understand global Neanderthal extinction. We also emphasize the importance of understanding the role of fire use in the Middle to Upper Paleolithic transition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna E Goldfield
- Department of Archaeology, Boston University, 675 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA, 02115 USA.
| | - Ross Booton
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield, South Yorkshire S10 2TN, United Kingdom
| | - John M Marston
- Department of Archaeology, Boston University, 675 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA, 02115 USA
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17
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Hoffecker JF, Hoffecker IT. Technological complexity and the global dispersal of modern humans. Evol Anthropol 2017; 26:285-299. [PMID: 29265666 DOI: 10.1002/evan.21553] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/10/2017] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Anatomically modern humans (Homo sapiens) dispersed out of Africa roughly 120,000 years ago and again after 75,000 years ago. The early dispersal was geographically restricted to the Arabian Peninsula, Levant, and possibly parts of southern Asia. The later dispersal was ultimately global in scope, including areas not previously occupied by Homo. One explanation for the contrast between the two out-of-Africa dispersals is that the modern humans who expanded into Eurasia 120,000 years ago lacked the functionally and structurally complex technology of recent hunter-gatherers. This technology, which includes, for example, mechanical projectiles, snares and traps, and sewn clothing, provides not only expanded dietary breadth and increased rates of foraging efficiency and success in places where plant and animal productivity is low, but protection from cold weather in places where winter temperatures are low. The absence of complex technology before 75,000 years ago also may explain why modern humans in the Levant did not develop sedentary settlements and agriculture 120,000 years ago (i.e., during the Last Interglacial).
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Affiliation(s)
- John F Hoffecker
- Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, CO, 80309-0450
| | - Ian T Hoffecker
- Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics, Karolinska Institutet, SE-171 77, Stockholm, Sweden
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18
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Naito YI, Chikaraishi Y, Drucker DG, Ohkouchi N, Semal P, Wißing C, Bocherens H. Reply to "Comment on "Ecological niche of Neanderthals from Spy Cave revealed by nitrogen isotopes of individual amino acids in collagen." [J. Hum. Evol. 93 (2016) 82-90]" [J. Hum. Evol. 117 (2018) 53-55]. J Hum Evol 2017; 117:56-60. [PMID: 29029809 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2017.09.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2017] [Revised: 09/19/2017] [Accepted: 09/20/2017] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Yuichi I Naito
- Fachbereich Geowissenschaften, Paläobiologie (Biogeologie), Universität Tübingen, Hölderlinstraße 12, 72074 Tübingen, Germany.
| | - Yoshito Chikaraishi
- Department of Biogeochemistry, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, 2-15 Natsushima-cho, Yokosuka 237-0061, Japan; Institute of Low Temperature Science, Hokkaido University, Kita-19, Nishi-8, Kita-ku, Sapporo 060-0819, Japan
| | - Dorothée G Drucker
- Fachbereich Geowissenschaften, Paläobiologie (Biogeologie), Universität Tübingen, Hölderlinstraße 12, 72074 Tübingen, Germany; Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment (HEP), Universität Tübingen, Hölderlinstraße 12, 72074 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Naohiko Ohkouchi
- Department of Biogeochemistry, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, 2-15 Natsushima-cho, Yokosuka 237-0061, Japan
| | - Patrick Semal
- Department of Paleontology, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, 1000 Brussels, Belgium
| | - Christoph Wißing
- Fachbereich Geowissenschaften, Paläobiologie (Biogeologie), Universität Tübingen, Hölderlinstraße 12, 72074 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Hervé Bocherens
- Fachbereich Geowissenschaften, Paläobiologie (Biogeologie), Universität Tübingen, Hölderlinstraße 12, 72074 Tübingen, Germany; Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment (HEP), Universität Tübingen, Hölderlinstraße 12, 72074 Tübingen, Germany
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19
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Drucker DG, Naito YI, Péan S, Prat S, Crépin L, Chikaraishi Y, Ohkouchi N, Puaud S, Lázničková-Galetová M, Patou-Mathis M, Yanevich A, Bocherens H. Isotopic analyses suggest mammoth and plant in the diet of the oldest anatomically modern humans from far southeast Europe. Sci Rep 2017; 7:6833. [PMID: 28754955 PMCID: PMC5533724 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-07065-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2017] [Accepted: 06/22/2017] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Relatively high 15N abundances in bone collagen of early anatomically modern humans in Europe have often been interpreted as a specific consumption of freshwater resources, even if mammoth is an alternative high 15N prey. At Buran-Kaya III, access to associated fauna in a secured archaeological context and application of recently developed isotopic analyses of individuals amino acids offer the opportunity to further examine this hypothesis. The site of Buran-Kaya III is located in south Crimea and has provided a rich archaeological sequence including two Upper Palaeolithic layers, from which human fossils were retrieved and directly dated as from 37.8 to 33.1 ka cal BP. Results from bulk collagen of three human remains suggests the consumption of a high 15N prey besides the contribution of saiga, red deer, horse and hare, whose butchered remains were present at the site. In contrast to bulk collagen, phenylalanine and glutamic acid 15N abundances reflect not only animal but also plant protein contributions to omnivorous diet, and allow disentangling aquatic from terrestrial resource consumption. The inferred human trophic position values point to terrestrial-based diet, meaning a significant contribution of mammoth meat, in addition to a clear intake of plant protein.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dorothée G Drucker
- Fachbereich Geowissenschaften, Forschungsbereich Paläobiologie, AG Biogeologie, Universität Tübingen, Hölderlinstr. 12, 72074, Tübingen, Germany. .,Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment (HEP), Universität Tübingen, Hölderlinstr. 12, 72074, Tübingen, Germany.
| | - Yuichi I Naito
- Department of Biogeochemistry, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, 2-15 Natsushima-cho, Yokosuka, 237-0061, Japan.
| | - Stéphane Péan
- UMR 7194 (HNHP), MNHN/CNRS/UPVD, Sorbonne Universités, Institut de Paléontologie Humaine, 1 rue René Panhard, 75013, Paris, France
| | - Sandrine Prat
- UMR 7194 (HNHP), MNHN/CNRS/UPVD, Sorbonne Universités, Musée de l'Homme, Palais de Chaillot, 17 Place du Trocadéro, 75116, Paris, France
| | - Laurent Crépin
- UMR 7194 (HNHP), MNHN/CNRS/UPVD, Sorbonne Universités, Institut de Paléontologie Humaine, 1 rue René Panhard, 75013, Paris, France
| | - Yoshito Chikaraishi
- Isotope Physiology, Ecology, and Geochemistry, Water and Material Cycles Division, Institute of Low Temperature Science, Hokkaido University, Kita-19, Nishi-8, Kita-ku, Sapporo, 060-0819, Japan
| | - Naohiko Ohkouchi
- Department of Biogeochemistry, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, 2-15 Natsushima-cho, Yokosuka, 237-0061, Japan
| | - Simon Puaud
- UMR 7194 (HNHP), MNHN/CNRS/UPVD, Sorbonne Universités, Musée de l'Homme, Palais de Chaillot, 17 Place du Trocadéro, 75116, Paris, France
| | - Martina Lázničková-Galetová
- UMR 7194 (HNHP), MNHN/CNRS/UPVD, Sorbonne Universités, Institut de Paléontologie Humaine, 1 rue René Panhard, 75013, Paris, France.,Moravian Museum, Zelný trh 6, 65937, Brno, Czech Republic.,Hrdlička Museum of Man, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 128 00, Praha, Czech Republic.,Department of Anthropology, Faculty of Philosophy and Arts, University of West Bohemia, Sedláčkova 15, 306 14, Pilsen, Czech Republic
| | - Marylène Patou-Mathis
- UMR 7194 (HNHP), MNHN/CNRS/UPVD, Sorbonne Universités, Institut de Paléontologie Humaine, 1 rue René Panhard, 75013, Paris, France
| | - Aleksandr Yanevich
- Institute of Archaeology, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Heroiv Stalingrada 12, 04210, Kyiv, Ukraine
| | - Hervé Bocherens
- Fachbereich Geowissenschaften, Forschungsbereich Paläobiologie, AG Biogeologie, Universität Tübingen, Hölderlinstr. 12, 72074, Tübingen, Germany.,Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment (HEP), Universität Tübingen, Hölderlinstr. 12, 72074, Tübingen, Germany
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20
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Deeply divergent archaic mitochondrial genome provides lower time boundary for African gene flow into Neanderthals. Nat Commun 2017; 8:16046. [PMID: 28675384 PMCID: PMC5500885 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms16046] [Citation(s) in RCA: 116] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2016] [Accepted: 05/23/2017] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Ancient DNA is revealing new insights into the genetic relationship between Pleistocene hominins and modern humans. Nuclear DNA indicated Neanderthals as a sister group of Denisovans after diverging from modern humans. However, the closer affinity of the Neanderthal mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) to modern humans than Denisovans has recently been suggested as the result of gene flow from an African source into Neanderthals before 100,000 years ago. Here we report the complete mtDNA of an archaic femur from the Hohlenstein–Stadel (HST) cave in southwestern Germany. HST carries the deepest divergent mtDNA lineage that splits from other Neanderthals ∼270,000 years ago, providing a lower boundary for the time of the putative mtDNA introgression event. We demonstrate that a complete Neanderthal mtDNA replacement is feasible over this time interval even with minimal hominin introgression. The highly divergent HST branch is indicative of greater mtDNA diversity during the Middle Pleistocene than in later periods. Ancient DNA keeps expanding our understanding of complex genetic relationships between Pleistocene hominins. Here, Posth and colleagues analyse the mitochondrial genome of an archaic human that diverged from other Neanderthals ∼270,000 years ago, providing the minimum age for an African introgression into Neanderthals.
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21
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Rabanus-Wallace MT, Wooller MJ, Zazula GD, Shute E, Jahren AH, Kosintsev P, Burns JA, Breen J, Llamas B, Cooper A. Megafaunal isotopes reveal role of increased moisture on rangeland during late Pleistocene extinctions. Nat Ecol Evol 2017; 1:125. [DOI: 10.1038/s41559-017-0125] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2016] [Accepted: 02/28/2017] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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22
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Laffranchi Z, Huertas AD, Jiménez Brobeil SA, Torres AG, Riquelme Cantal JA. Stable C &N isotopes in 2100 Year-B.P. human bone collagen indicate rare dietary dominance of C4 plants in NE-Italy. Sci Rep 2016; 6:38817. [PMID: 27934943 PMCID: PMC5146934 DOI: 10.1038/srep38817] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2016] [Accepted: 11/14/2016] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
C4 plants (e.g. maize, millet), part of our current diet, are only endemic of reduced areas in South-Europe due to their need of warm climates. Since the first vestiges of agriculture in Europe remains of C4 plants were recorded but their overall proportion in the human diet remains unknown. Therefore, isotopic (δ13C and δ15N) composition of bone collagen from the skeletal remains (human and animals) of a Celtic population, Cenomani Gauls, from Verona (3rd to 1st century BC) in the NE Italy provide a new perspective on this matter. The δ13C collagen values of 90 human skeletal individuals range between -20.2‰ and -9.7‰ (V-PDB) with a mean value of -15.3‰. As present day C4 plants have δ13C values around -11‰, which is equivalent to -9.5‰ for samples of preindustrial age, the less negative δ13C values in these individuals indicate a diet dominated by C4 plants. This palaeodietary study indicates that some European populations predominantly consumed cultivated C4 plants 2100 year B.P. This is supported by the paleobotanical records and ancient Roman sources (e.g. Pliny the Elder), which indicate that millet was a staple food in South-Europe.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zita Laffranchi
- Department of Legal Medicine, Toxicology and Physical Anthropology, Medicine Faculty, University of Granada (UGR), Av. de la Investigación 11, 18016, Granada, Spain
| | - Antonio Delgado Huertas
- Biogeochemical of Stable Isotopes Laboratory, Andalusian Institute of Earth Sciences (IACT-CSIC-UGR), Av. de las Palmeras 4, 18100, Armilla, Granada, Spain
| | - Sylvia A. Jiménez Brobeil
- Department of Legal Medicine, Toxicology and Physical Anthropology, Medicine Faculty, University of Granada (UGR), Av. de la Investigación 11, 18016, Granada, Spain
| | - Arsenio Granados Torres
- Biogeochemical of Stable Isotopes Laboratory, Andalusian Institute of Earth Sciences (IACT-CSIC-UGR), Av. de las Palmeras 4, 18100, Armilla, Granada, Spain
| | - Jose A. Riquelme Cantal
- Department of Geography and Territorial Sciences, Area of Prehistory, University of Cordoba, Plaza del Cardenal Salazar 3, 14071, Cordoba, Spain
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23
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El Zaatari S, Grine FE, Ungar PS, Hublin JJ. Neandertal versus Modern Human Dietary Responses to Climatic Fluctuations. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0153277. [PMID: 27119336 PMCID: PMC4847867 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0153277] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2015] [Accepted: 03/25/2016] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
The Neandertal lineage developed successfully throughout western Eurasia and effectively survived the harsh and severely changing environments of the alternating glacial/interglacial cycles from the middle of the Pleistocene until Marine Isotope Stage 3. Yet, towards the end of this stage, at the time of deteriorating climatic conditions that eventually led to the Last Glacial Maximum, and soon after modern humans entered western Eurasia, the Neandertals disappeared. Western Eurasia was by then exclusively occupied by modern humans. We use occlusal molar microwear texture analysis to examine aspects of diet in western Eurasian Paleolithic hominins in relation to fluctuations in food supplies that resulted from the oscillating climatic conditions of the Pleistocene. There is demonstrable evidence for differences in behavior that distinguish Upper Paleolithic humans from members of the Neandertal lineage. Specifically, whereas the Neandertals altered their diets in response to changing paleoecological conditions, the diets of Upper Paleolithic humans seem to have been less affected by slight changes in vegetation/climatic conditions but were linked to changes in their technological complexes. The results of this study also indicate differences in resource exploitation strategies between these two hominin groups. We argue that these differences in subsistence strategies, if they had already been established at the time of the first contact between these two hominin taxa, may have given modern humans an advantage over the Neandertals, and may have contributed to the persistence of our species despite habitat-related changes in food availabilities associated with climate fluctuations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sireen El Zaatari
- Paleoanthropology, Senckenberg Center for Human Evolution and Paleoenvironment, Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- * E-mail:
| | - Frederick E. Grine
- Department of Anthropology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York, United States of America
- Department of Anatomical Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York, United States of America
| | - Peter S. Ungar
- Department of Anthropology, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas, United States of America
| | - Jean-Jacques Hublin
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
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24
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Fiorenza L, Benazzi S, Henry AG, Salazar-García DC, Blasco R, Picin A, Wroe S, Kullmer O. To meat or not to meat? New perspectives on Neanderthal ecology. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2014; 156 Suppl 59:43-71. [DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.22659] [Citation(s) in RCA: 70] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Luca Fiorenza
- Earth Sciences, University of New England; Armidale NSW 2351 Australia
| | - Stefano Benazzi
- Department of Cultural Heritage; University of Bologna; Ravenna 48121 Italy
- Department of Human Evolution; Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology; Leipzig 04103 Germany
| | - Amanda G. Henry
- Plant Foods in Hominin Dietary Ecology Research Group, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology; Leipzig 04103 Germany
| | - Domingo C. Salazar-García
- Department of Human Evolution; Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology; Leipzig 04103 Germany
- Plant Foods in Hominin Dietary Ecology Research Group, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology; Leipzig 04103 Germany
- Department of Archaeology; University of Cape Town; 7700 Rondebosch South Africa
- Department de Prehistòria i Arqueologia; Universitat de València; Valencia 46010 Spain
| | - Ruth Blasco
- The Gibraltar Museum, 18-20 Bomb House Lane; PO Box 939 Gibraltar
| | - Andrea Picin
- Department of Prehistory and Early History; Friedrich Schiller Universität Jena; Jena 07743 Germany
- Neanderthal Museum; Mettmann 40822 Germany
- Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES); Tarragona 43007 Spain
| | - Stephen Wroe
- Zoology, University of New England; Armidale NSW 2351 Australia
| | - Ottmar Kullmer
- Senckenberg Research Institute; 60325 Frankfurt am Main Hessen Germany
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25
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Smith GM. Neanderthal megafaunal exploitation in Western Europe and its dietary implications: a contextual reassessment of La Cotte de St Brelade (Jersey). J Hum Evol 2014; 78:181-201. [PMID: 25454779 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2014.10.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2014] [Revised: 10/14/2014] [Accepted: 10/15/2014] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
The recurrent presence at Middle Palaeolithic sites of megafaunal remains, such as mammoth, elephant and rhinoceros, together with isotope analyses signalling meat as a prominent protein source, have been used to argue that these species played a central role in Neanderthal diet. Key to this model are the bone heap horizons from La Cotte de St Brelade (Jersey), which were previously interpreted as game drive debris resulting from systematic Neanderthal hunting. However, this hypothesis has never been rigorously tested, neither at a site-scale, incorporating taphonomic and contextual data, nor at a wider European scale. First, this paper provides a contextual reassessment of the faunal remains from La Cotte to fully understand Neanderthal behaviour at the site. Second, a comparative database of 30 well-published Middle Palaeolithic sites with megafauna permits a data-driven, broader spatial (European) and diachronic assessment of the role of megafauna in Neanderthal subsistence behaviour. Results suggest initial Neanderthal occupation at La Cotte was intensive although through time site visits became more infrequent, as highlighted by a reduction in cultural debris concurrent with a rise in carnivore presence. While mammoths, just as other large mammals and occasionally carnivores, were clearly butchered at this locality, their acquisition and role in Neanderthal diet remains ambiguous. Broader comparisons across Western Europe indicate a main focus on a range of large herbivores, with only a minor, opportunistic, role for megafauna. Whilst stable isotope analysis suggests that Neanderthal diet was meat-oriented, zooarchaeological data do not support the inference that megafauna were the major contributor of meat.
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Affiliation(s)
- Geoff M Smith
- MONREPOS Archaeological Research Centre and Museum for Human Behavioural Evolution, RGZM, Schloss Monrepos, 56567 Neuwied, Germany.
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