image: This is a 3D reconstruction of the Les Cottés Neandertal tooth sampled in the study. view more
Credit: Adeline Le Cabec
Researchers report isotopic evidence of Neandertal carnivory. Neandertal remains contain high nitrogen isotope ratios. However, whether these ratios indicate a carnivorous diet is unclear, and previous studies have suggested specific sources of high nitrogen ratios, such as mammoth or putrid meat. Researchers previously discovered exceptionally high nitrogen isotope values in some Neandertal remains, traditionally interpreted as a signature of freshwater fish consumption. Klervia Jaouen and colleagues conducted compound-specific isotope analyses of carbon and nitrogen isotopes in two samples of late Neandertal collagen, as well as in samples from associated animals, to establish food web relationships. Isotopic analysis further assessed carbon-specific and nitrogen-specific isotope values for individual amino acids to further distinguish between food sources. Nitrogen isotope results supported the position of Neandertals within the food web as consumers of herbivores, and the high isotope ratios in bulk bone collagen could be explained by herbivore consumption alone, without additional food sources as previously suggested. Archaeological evidence supports reindeer hunting but not the consumption of freshwater fish, whereas carbon isotopes of bulk collagen do not support consumption of mammoths in one of the two sites studied. According to the authors, although the results do not rule out occasional consumption of other food sources, the Neandertal diet was likely carnivorous.
Article #18-14087: "Exceptionally high δ15N values in collagen single amino acids confirm Neandertals as high-trophic level carnivores," by Klervia Jaouen et al.
MEDIA CONTACT: Klervia Jaouen, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, GERMANY; e-mail: klervia_jaouen@eva.mpg.de
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