Stable isotope evidence for increasing dietary breadth in the European mid-Upper Paleolithic

Abstract

New carbon and nitrogen stable isotope values for human remains dating to the mid-Upper Paleolithic in Europe indicate significant amounts of aquatic (fish, mollusks, and/or birds) foods in some of their diets. Most of this evidence points to exploitation of inland freshwater aquatic resources in particular. By contrast, European Neandertal collagen carbon and nitrogen stable isotope values do not indicate significant use of inland aquatic foods but instead show that they obtained the majority of their protein from terrestrial herbivores. In agreement with recent zooarcheological analyses, the isotope results indicate shifts toward a more broad-spectrum subsistence economy in inland Europe by the mid-Upper Paleolithic period, probably associated with significant population increases.

Figure 1

Bone collagen δ¹⁵N values of fauna, Neandertals, and early modern humans showing significant freshwater aquatic resource exploitation from Eurasian contexts. The early modern humans have higher δ¹⁵N values, indicating consumption of aquatic foods. Measurement error bars are indicated on the early modern human and Neandertal data points, whereas the bars on the freshwater fish and herbivore points indicate typical ranges of values (see text for references). Abbreviations for the early modern humans are K, Kostenki; B, Brno-Francouzská; DV, Dolni Vĕstonice; and M, Mal'ta. Early modern humans showing evidence for terrestrial herbivore consumption (Sunghir) and marine resource exploitation (Paviland) are not included.