Much has been learned about our cousin Neanderthals over the past century, but many questions remain.
For example, we know that Neanderthals were good hunters, but we don’t yet know to what extent they supplemented their diet with plants.
Studies of tartar extracted from Neanderthal remains found in the Iberian Peninsula have led to the suggestion that at least some Neanderthals were omnivorous, consuming a wide variety of plants and fungi. I was.
However, other studies have questioned this conclusion, suggesting that Neanderthals ate substantial amounts of meat elsewhere, primarily deer, mammoths and woolly rhinos.
A new analysis of Paleolithic Neanderthal tooth enamel from Spain’s Gabasa Cave is being used by an international team of researchers to shed light on the carnivorous nature of Neanderthals.
Traditionally, scientists trying to ascertain the place in the food web of an extinct animal had to extract the protein and analyze the nitrogen isotopes from bone collagen.
However, the method has limitations and may only work for specimens from temperate regions, and even then it is best suited for specimens that died within the last 50,000 years. It can also be misleading if the animals themselves were fed a higher than expected nitrogen-rich vegetable diet.
Nitrogen isotope analysis works well for other Neanderthal remains, but not for Gabasa’s teeth, so the researchers analyzed zinc isotope ratios in the enamel instead.
The method relies on changes in enamel zinc concentrations at different stages of the food chain, found in modern remains and ancient animal bones. However, this is the first time zinc has been used to assess Neanderthal dietary habits.
A research team led by Dr. Clervia Jaouen of the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) performed zinc isotope analysis on Neanderthal molars and nearby modern animal bones, including herbivores and carnivores. rice field.
The researchers explain that the lower the zinc-66 isotope ratio in an animal’s bones, the more likely it was a carnivore.
And the low zinc isotope characteristic of these Neanderthal molars suggests that the molars were probably dedicated to carnivores, the authors conclude.
Its features suggest it was a “highly carnivore,” she writes, and “are similar to nitrogen isotopes observed in other Neanderthal settlements.” Of all the animal groups studied at Gabasa, Neanderthals have the “lowest” zinc isotope ratio.
Although this Neanderthal may have been the premier predator of the Paleolithic Iberian Peninsula, there is some evidence suggesting differences in diet compared to other carnivores.
Many of the modern carnivores in the region probably consumed the bones and blood of their prey, which elevated the zinc isotope ratio, researchers say.
Because the Neanderthal had such a low zinc isotope ratio, the authors suggest that the individual ate a lot of animal flesh, but not the blood or bones (possibly apart from the bone marrow). as).
Other chemical evidence suggests the Neanderthal was weaned before the age of two and a half and probably died where it was born, the researchers added.
Although these findings support existing evidence that Neanderthals were carnivorous, more research is needed to understand the full extent of Neanderthal diets.
Just as Neanderthals may have eaten different animals in different regions, some groups may have incorporated more plants and fungi into their diets than others.
Such zinc isotope analyzes could help distinguish between carnivores and omnivores, and could be a step closer to answering the question for Neanderthals in general, the researchers say.
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