From
Science Daily,
Edited by Amal Udawatta,
For the first time,
zinc isotope ratios in tooth enamel have been analysed with the aim of
identifying the diet of a Neanderthal. The Neanderthal to whom the tooth
belonged was probably a carnivore. Other chemical tracers indicate that this
individual did not consume the blood of their prey, but ate the bone marrow
without consuming the bones.
A new study published
on 2022 October 17th 2 in the journal PNAS, led by
a CNRS researcher, has for the first time used zinc isotope analysis to
determine the position of Neanderthals in the food chain. Their findings
suggest that they were in fact carnivores.
Were Neanderthals
carnivores? Scientists have not yet settled the question. While some studies of
the dental tartar of individuals from the Iberian Peninsula appear to show that
they were major consumers of plants, other research carried out at sites
outside Iberia seem to suggest that they consumed almost nothing but meat.
Using new analytical techniques on a molar belonging to an individual of this
species, researchers1 have shown that the Neanderthals at the
Gabasa site in Spain appear to have been carnivores.
To determine an
individual's position in the food chain, scientists have until now generally
had to extract proteins and analyse the nitrogen isotopes present in the bone
collagen. However, this method can often only be used in temperate
environments, and only rarely on samples over 50,000 years old. When these
conditions are not met, nitrogen isotope analysis is very complex, or even
impossible. This was the case for the molar from the Gabasa site analysed in
this study.
Given these
constraints, Klevia Jaouen, a CNRS researcher, and her colleagues decided to
analyse the zinc isotope ratios present in the tooth enamel, a mineral that is
resistant to all forms of degradation. This is the first time this method has
been used to attempt to identify a Neanderthal's diet. The lower the
proportions of zinc isotopes in the bones, the more likely they are to belong
to a carnivore. The analysis was also carried out on the bones of animals from
the same time period and geographical area, including carnivores such as lynxes
and wolves, and herbivores like rabbits and chamois. The results showed that
the Neanderthal to whom this tooth from the Gabasa site belonged was probably a
carnivore who did not consume the blood of their prey.
Broken bones found at
the site, together with isotopic data, indicate that this individual also ate
the bone marrow of their prey, without consuming the bones, while other
chemical tracers show that they were weaned before the age of two. Analyses
also show that this Neanderthal probably died in the same place they had lived
in as a child.
Compared to previous techniques, this new zinc isotope analysis method makes it easier to distinguish between omnivores and carnivores. To confirm their conclusions, the scientists hope to repeat the experiment on individuals from other sites, especially from the Payre site in south-east France, where new research is under way.
(In France, the work
involved scientists from the Geosciences Environment Toulouse Laboratory
(CNRS/CNES/IRD/UT3 Paul Sabatier), and the Geology Laboratory of Lyon: Earth,
Planets, Environment (CNRS/UCBL1), together with teams from the University of
Zaragoza, the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, the
Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Mainz, and the Johannes Gutenberg
University, Mainz.)
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