NAGIOS: RODERIC FUNCIONANDO

Dental calculus indicates widespread plant use within the stable Neanderthal dietary niche

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Dental calculus indicates widespread plant use within the stable Neanderthal dietary niche

dc.contributor.author	Power, Robert C.
dc.contributor.author	Salazar García, Domingo Carlos
dc.contributor.author	Rubini, Mauro
dc.contributor.author	Darlas, Andrea
dc.contributor.author	Harvati, Katerina
dc.contributor.author	Walker, Michael
dc.contributor.author	Hublin, Jean-Jacques
dc.contributor.author	Henry, Amanda G.
dc.date.accessioned	2018-04-10T10:53:27Z
dc.date.available	2018-04-10T10:53:27Z
dc.date.issued	2018
dc.identifier.citation	Power, Robert C. Salazar García, Domingo Carlos Rubini, Mauro Darlas, Andrea Harvati, Katerina Walker, Michael Hublin, Jean-Jacques Henry, Amanda G. 2018 Dental calculus indicates widespread plant use within the stable Neanderthal dietary niche Journal of Human Evolution 119 27 41
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10550/65536
dc.description.abstract	The ecology of Neanderthals is a pressing question in the study of hominin evolution. Diet appears to have played a prominent role in their adaptation to Eurasia. Based on isotope and zoo archaeological studies, Neanderthal diet has been reconstructed as heavily meat-based and generally similar across different environments. This image persists, despite recent studies suggesting more plant use and more variation. However, we have only a fragmentary picture of their dietary ecology, and how it may have varied among habitats, because we lack broad and environmentally representative information about their use of plants and other foods. To address the problem, we examined the plant micro remains in Neanderthal dental calculus from five archaeological sites representing a variety of environments from the northern Balkans, and the western, central and eastern Mediterranean. The recovered micro remains revealed the consumption of a variety of non-animal foods, including starchy plants. Using a modeling approach, we explored the relationships among microremains and environment, while controlling for chronology. In the process, we compared the effectiveness of various diversity metrics and their shortcomings for studying microbotanical remains, which are often morphologically redundant for identification. We developed Minimum Botanical Units as a new way of estimating how many plant types or parts are present in a microbotanical sample. In contrast to some previous work, we found no evidence that plant use is confined to the southern-most areas of Neanderthal distribution. Although interpreting the ecogeographic variation is limited by the incomplete preservation of dietary micro remains, it is clear that plant exploitation was a widespread and deeply rooted Neanderthal subsistence strategy, even if they were predominately game hunters. Given the limited dietary variation across Neanderthal range in time and space in both plant and animal food exploitation, we argue that vegetal consumption was a feature of a generally static dietary niche.
dc.language.iso	eng
dc.relation.ispartof	Journal of Human Evolution, 2018, vol. 119, p. 27-41
dc.subject	Arqueologia
dc.title	Dental calculus indicates widespread plant use within the stable Neanderthal dietary niche
dc.type	journal article	es_ES
dc.date.updated	2018-04-10T10:53:28Z
dc.identifier.idgrec	124559
dc.rights.accessRights	open access	es_ES