The Neanderthal Meal: A New Perspective Using Faecal Biomarkers
Neanderthal dietary reconstructions have, to date, been based on indirect evidence and may underestimate the significance of plants as a food source. While zooarchaeological and stable isotope data have conveyed an image of Neanderthals as largely carnivorous, studies on dental calculus and scattere...
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| 语言: | en_US |
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Public Library of Science
2014
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| 在线阅读: | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/88263 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7144-8537 |
| _version_ | 1826213024164216832 |
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| author | Sistiaga, Ainara Mallol, Carolina Galvan, Bertila Summons, Roger E |
| author2 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences |
| author_facet | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences Sistiaga, Ainara Mallol, Carolina Galvan, Bertila Summons, Roger E |
| author_sort | Sistiaga, Ainara |
| collection | MIT |
| description | Neanderthal dietary reconstructions have, to date, been based on indirect evidence and may underestimate the significance of plants as a food source. While zooarchaeological and stable isotope data have conveyed an image of Neanderthals as largely carnivorous, studies on dental calculus and scattered palaeobotanical evidence suggest some degree of contribution of plants to their diet. However, both views remain plausible and there is no categorical indication of an omnivorous diet. Here we present direct evidence of Neanderthal diet using faecal biomarkers, a valuable analytical tool for identifying dietary provenance. Our gas chromatography-mass spectrometry results from El Salt (Spain), a Middle Palaeolithic site dating to ca. 50,000 yr. BP, represents the oldest positive identification of human faecal matter. We show that Neanderthals, like anatomically modern humans, have a high rate of conversion of cholesterol to coprostanol related to the presence of required bacteria in their guts. Analysis of five sediment samples from different occupation floors suggests that Neanderthals predominantly consumed meat, as indicated by high coprostanol proportions, but also had significant plant intake, as shown by the presence of 5β-stigmastanol. This study highlights the applicability of the biomarker approach in Pleistocene contexts as a provider of direct palaeodietary information and supports the opportunity for further research into cholesterol metabolism throughout human evolution. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T15:42:07Z |
| format | Article |
| id | mit-1721.1/88263 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | en_US |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T15:42:07Z |
| publishDate | 2014 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/882632024-05-15T02:20:46Z The Neanderthal Meal: A New Perspective Using Faecal Biomarkers Sistiaga, Ainara Mallol, Carolina Galvan, Bertila Summons, Roger E Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences Summons, Roger Everett Sistiaga, Ainara Neanderthal dietary reconstructions have, to date, been based on indirect evidence and may underestimate the significance of plants as a food source. While zooarchaeological and stable isotope data have conveyed an image of Neanderthals as largely carnivorous, studies on dental calculus and scattered palaeobotanical evidence suggest some degree of contribution of plants to their diet. However, both views remain plausible and there is no categorical indication of an omnivorous diet. Here we present direct evidence of Neanderthal diet using faecal biomarkers, a valuable analytical tool for identifying dietary provenance. Our gas chromatography-mass spectrometry results from El Salt (Spain), a Middle Palaeolithic site dating to ca. 50,000 yr. BP, represents the oldest positive identification of human faecal matter. We show that Neanderthals, like anatomically modern humans, have a high rate of conversion of cholesterol to coprostanol related to the presence of required bacteria in their guts. Analysis of five sediment samples from different occupation floors suggests that Neanderthals predominantly consumed meat, as indicated by high coprostanol proportions, but also had significant plant intake, as shown by the presence of 5β-stigmastanol. This study highlights the applicability of the biomarker approach in Pleistocene contexts as a provider of direct palaeodietary information and supports the opportunity for further research into cholesterol metabolism throughout human evolution. NASA Astrobiology Institute (Grant NNA13AA90A) 2014-07-11T13:04:44Z 2014-07-11T13:04:44Z 2014-06 2014-01 Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle 1932-6203 http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/88263 Sistiaga, Ainara, Carolina Mallol, Bertila Galvan, and Roger Everett Summons. (2014). "The Neanderthal Meal: A New Perspective Using Faecal Biomarkers." PLoS ONE 9(6): e101045 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7144-8537 en_US http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0101045 PLoS ONE Creative Commons Attribution http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ application/pdf Public Library of Science PLoS |
| spellingShingle | Sistiaga, Ainara Mallol, Carolina Galvan, Bertila Summons, Roger E The Neanderthal Meal: A New Perspective Using Faecal Biomarkers |
| title | The Neanderthal Meal: A New Perspective Using Faecal Biomarkers |
| title_full | The Neanderthal Meal: A New Perspective Using Faecal Biomarkers |
| title_fullStr | The Neanderthal Meal: A New Perspective Using Faecal Biomarkers |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Neanderthal Meal: A New Perspective Using Faecal Biomarkers |
| title_short | The Neanderthal Meal: A New Perspective Using Faecal Biomarkers |
| title_sort | neanderthal meal a new perspective using faecal biomarkers |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/88263 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7144-8537 |
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