Out of Africa: modern human origins special feature: isotopic evidence for the diets of European Neanderthals and early modern humans.

ABSTRACT: We report here on the direct isotopic evidence for Neanderthal and early modern human diets in Europe. Isotopic methods indicate the sources of dietary protein over many years of life, and show that Neanderthals had a similar diet through time (approximately 120,000 to approximately 37,000 cal BP) and in different regions of Europe. The isotopic evidence indicates that in all cases Neanderthals were top-level carnivores and obtained all, or most, of their dietary protein from large herbivores. In contrast, early modern humans (approximately 40,000 to approximately 27,000 cal BP) exhibited a wider range of isotopic values, and a number of individuals had evidence for the consumption of aquatic (marine and freshwater) resources. This pattern includes Oase 1, the oldest directly dated modern

SUBMITTER: Richards MP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2752538 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature