Despite everything we have discovered about our close relationships NeanderthalWhile we have been cousins for the last century, there are many lingering questions. We are able to answer these questions. Neanderthals were proficient hunters, for example, but we still aren’t sure to what degree they supplemented their diet with plants… if at all.
Researchers have concluded that some Neanderthals may have been omnivores by studying the dental tartar from Neanderthal remains found on the Iberian Peninsula. A wide range of plants and mushrooms.
However, other studies have supported this conclusion and suggested that Neanderthals from other places ate a similar food. A significant amount of meatThese include deer, mammoth, wooly rhinoceros, and mammoth.
International researchers used new analytical techniques to examine the enamel of a Neanderthal tooth from the Middle Paleolithic. These remains were discovered in Spain’s Gabasa cave.
Traditionally, scientists hoping to figure out an extinct animal’s position in the food web must extract proteins and analyze nitrogen isotopes from bone collagen – higher ratios of nitrogen-15 compared to nitrogen-14 is indicative of Increased meat consumption.
The technique may not be suitable for specimens in temperate climates. Even then, it is best to use specimens that have lived within the past 50,000 year. It could also be misleading, if the animal was fed more nitrogen-15 than they expected.
Although nitrogen isotope analysis may have shed light on other Neanderthal remains it would not work on the Gabasa teeth so researchers tested the zinc isotope ratios within the enamel.
This method uses changes in zinc content in enamel as a way to determine the dietary habits of Neanderthals. This feature has been shown in ancient animal bones, modern remains, and some ancient fossils. However, this is the first time that zinc has been used in assessing the dietary habits and lifestyles of a Neanderthal.
Klervia Jaouen, from the French National Centre for Scientific Research, led the research team. They also examined bones from several other contemporary animals nearby.
Researchers explain that lower levels of zinc-66 isotopes found in bones of animals tend to indicate a greater likelihood that the animal was a carnivore.
Jaouen, along with her colleagues, concluded that the Neanderthal Molar was likely a result of a meat-eater.
Its signature indicates that it is “of top-level carnivore.” WriteThis is “similar to the nitrogen isotopes observed at other Neandertal occupation sites.” They add that the Neanderthal has the lowest zinc isotope ratio of all the animal groups examined at Gabasa.
Although this Neanderthal may have been an ex-predator in Paleolithic Iberia (Paleolithic Iberia), there are some indications that it had dietary preferences different from other carnivores.
The researchers point out that many modern carnivores of this region likely ate the bones and blood from their prey. This could have increased their zinc Isotope signature.
Jaouen and her colleagues believe that the Neanderthal ate a lot meat from animals, possibly with bone marrow, because of its low zinc isotope profile.
The researchers also found evidence that this Neanderthal was probably weaned in the same region where they were born.
These results support the evidence that Neanderthals were carnivorous, but more research is needed to understand the entire range of Neanderthal diets.
They likely preyed upon different animals depending on their availability. It remains possible that some Neanderthals supplemented their diet with plants or fungi.
The researchers claim that this type of analysis with zinc isotopes makes it easier for animals to be identified as carnivores/omnivores. This could help Neanderthals answer that question more generally.
Jaouen and her coworkers hope to do similar analyses on Neanderthals from other locations, they say, including the fossil-rich Payre Site in France’s Rhone valley.
The study was published in PNAS.
