Scientists have not yet resolved the question of whether Neanderthals were carnivores or not; while some studies defend that they were great consumers of plants, others say that they were meat consumers. Now, a new investigation goes in this last line: this extinct species -suggests- was carnivorous.
The results are published in the journal PNAS, in an article led by the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) and with the participation of the University of Zaragoza.
Researchers have used zinc isotope analysis for the first time to determine the position of Neanderthals in the food chain and their results, based on the analysis of a fossil tooth found at the Gabasa site in Huesca, suggest that they seem have been carnivorous, summarizes a CNRS statement.
A long discussion
Whether or not Neanderthals ate meat is still the subject of scientific research and discussion. While some studies of dental tartar from individuals from the Iberian Peninsula seem to show that they were heavy plant consumers, other research from sites outside of Iberia seems to suggest that they ate almost nothing but meat.
Using new analysis techniques on a molar belonging to an individual of this species, the researchers now show that the Neanderthals from the Gabasa site appear to have been carnivorous.
Until now, to determine the position of an individual in the food chain, scientists had to extract proteins and analyze the nitrogen isotopes present in bone collagen, details the CNRS.
However, this method can often only be used in temperate environments and only rarely on samples older than 50,000 years. When these conditions are not fulfilled, the analysis of nitrogen isotopes is very complex or even impossible; this was the case of the molar from the Gabasa deposit analyzed in this study.
Zinc isotopes
Given these limitations, Klevia Jaouen, a CNRS researcher, and her team decided to analyze the proportions of zinc isotopes present in tooth enamel, a mineral resistant to any form of degradation.
According to the French center, it is the first time that this method has been used to try to identify the diet of a Neanderthal; the lower the zinc isotope ratios in the bones, the more likely they belong to a carnivore.
The analysis was also carried out with animal bones from the same period and geographical area, including carnivores such as lynxes and wolves, and herbivores such as rabbits and chamois. The results showed that the Neanderthal to which this tooth from the Gabasa site belonged was probably a carnivore that did not consume the blood of its prey.
Broken bones found at the site, along with isotopic data, indicate that this individual also ate the bone marrow of its prey, without consuming the bones, while other chemical tracers show that it was weaned before two years of age. The analyzes also show that this Neanderthal probably died in the same place where he had lived as a child.
Compared to previous techniques, this new method of zinc isotope analysis makes it easier to distinguish between omnivores and carnivores, stress the researchers, who hope to repeat the experiment with individuals from other deposits, especially from the Payre deposit, in order to confirm their conclusions. southeastern France, where further research is being carried out.
