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. 2022 Oct 25;119(43):e2109315119.
doi: 10.1073/pnas.2109315119. Epub 2022 Oct 17.

A Neandertal dietary conundrum: Insights provided by tooth enamel Zn isotopes from Gabasa, Spain

Klervia Jaouen  1   2 , Vanessa Villalba-Mouco  3   4   5 , Geoff M Smith  2   6 , Manuel Trost  2 , Jennifer Leichliter  7   8 , Tina Lüdecke  7 , Pauline Méjean  1 , Stéphanie Mandrou  1 , Jérôme Chmeleff  1 , Danaé Guiserix  1   9 , Nicolas Bourgon  2   8 , Fernanda Blasco  10 , Jéssica Mendes Cardoso  1   11 , Camille Duquenoy  1 , Zineb Moubtahij  2 , Domingo C Salazar Garcia  2   12   13   14 , Michael Richards  15 , Thomas Tütken  8 , Jean-Jacques Hublin  2   16 , Pilar Utrilla  5 , Lourdes Montes  5
Affiliations

A Neandertal dietary conundrum: Insights provided by tooth enamel Zn isotopes from Gabasa, Spain

Klervia Jaouen et al. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. .

Abstract

The characterization of Neandertals' diets has mostly relied on nitrogen isotope analyses of bone and tooth collagen. However, few nitrogen isotope data have been recovered from bones or teeth from Iberia due to poor collagen preservation at Paleolithic sites in the region. Zinc isotopes have been shown to be a reliable method for reconstructing trophic levels in the absence of organic matter preservation. Here, we present the results of zinc (Zn), strontium (Sr), carbon (C), and oxygen (O) isotope and trace element ratio analysis measured in dental enamel on a Pleistocene food web in Gabasa, Spain, to characterize the diet and ecology of a Middle Paleolithic Neandertal individual. Based on the extremely low δ66Zn value observed in the Neandertal's tooth enamel, our results support the interpretation of Neandertals as carnivores as already suggested by δ15N isotope values of specimens from other regions. Further work could help identify if such isotopic peculiarities (lowest δ66Zn and highest δ15N of the food web) are due to a metabolic and/or dietary specificity of the Neandertals.

Keywords: Iberian Neandertals; Middle Paleolithic; carnivory; hominin; zinc isotope ratios.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interest.

Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
(A) Location of the Gabasa site as well as other Neandertal sites mentioned in the text. (B) Detailed map of the Gabasa region. San Estaban de Litera and Benabarre are nearby modern cities.
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.
Enamel δ66Zn values per mammalian taxon for different dietary groups from Gabasa, Spain given as boxplots. Note that subsamples taken from one single tooth reflect differences in dietary 66Zn values. See text for detailed discussion about the low Neandertal δ66Zn value.
Fig. 3.
Fig. 3.
Average dental enamel isotope and trace element ratios for the different dietary categories at Gabasa, Spain. (A) δ66Znenamel. (B) 87Sr/86Sr. (C) δ13Cenamel. (D) δ18Oenamel. (E) log(Ba/Ca). Omnivores correspond to one single taxon (cave bears) as well as carnivores with significant bone consumption (cave hyenas).
Fig. 4.
Fig. 4.
Zinc isotope values (δ66Zn, average dental enamel values per tooth) cross-plotted versus (A) carbon (δ13C), (B) oxygen (δ18O), and (C) strontium (87Sr/86Sr) isotope composition as well as (D) Ba/Ca ratios measured in faunal and Neandertal tooth enamel at Gabasa, Spain. Each point corresponds to a single tooth, except for the horse tooth, for which five samples were taken (samples are connected with a line). Error bars correspond to the SD between analytical duplicates for C and O isotopes (0.02 to 0.36 ‰; one sample with higher SD has been removed) and for Zn (analytical duplicates: 0.00 to 0.04 ‰; SD for separate samples taken from a single tooth: 0.04 to 0.21 ‰). SEs for strontium isotope ratios are 0.000003 to 0.000010 and are too small to display.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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