Reconstructing Hominin Diets with Stable Isotope Analysis of Amino Acids: New Perspectives and Future Directions.

ABSTRACT: Stable isotope analysis of teeth and bones is regularly applied by archeologists and paleoanthropologists seeking to reconstruct diets, ecologies, and environments of past hominin populations. Moving beyond the now prevalent study of stable isotope ratios from bulk materials, researchers are increasingly turning to stable isotope ratios of individual amino acids to obtain more detailed and robust insights into trophic level and resource use. In the present article, we provide a guide on how to best use amino acid stable isotope ratios to determine hominin dietary behaviors and ecologies, past and present. We highlight existing uncertainties of interpretation and the methodological developments required to ensure good practice. In doing so, we hope to make this promising approach more broad

SUBMITTER: Larsen T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9236875 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature