Stable isotope dietary analysis of the Tianyuan 1 early modern human

We report here on the isotopic analysis of the diet of one of the oldest modern humans found in Eurasia, the Tianyuan 1 early modern human dating to [almost equal to]40,000 calendar years ago from Tianyuan Cave (Tianyuandong) in the Zhoukoudian region of China. Carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis o...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS 2009-07, Vol.106 (27), p.10971-10974
Main Authors: Hu, Yaowu, Shang, Hong, Tong, Haowen, Nehlich, Olaf, Liu, Wu, Zhao, Chaohong, Yu, Jincheng, Wang, Changsui, Trinkaus, Erik, Richards, Michael P
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
animal-based foods
Animals
Archaeology
Bones
carbon
Carbon Isotopes
China
Collagens
Cultural anthropology
Diet
Diet - history
dietary indicators
Fishes
Food Chain
food composition
food consumption
freshwater fish
Freshwater fishes
Herbivores
History, Ancient
human nutrition
Human remains
Humans
Isotope Labeling
Isotopes
Nitrogen
Nitrogen Isotopes
Social Sciences
stable isotopes
Sulfur
Sulfur isotopes
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:We report here on the isotopic analysis of the diet of one of the oldest modern humans found in Eurasia, the Tianyuan 1 early modern human dating to [almost equal to]40,000 calendar years ago from Tianyuan Cave (Tianyuandong) in the Zhoukoudian region of China. Carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis of the human and associated faunal remains indicate a diet high in animal protein, and the high nitrogen isotope values suggest the consumption of freshwater fish. To confirm this inference, we measured the sulfur isotope values of terrestrial and freshwater animals around the Zhoukoudian area and of the Tianyuan 1 human, which also support the interpretation of a substantial portion of the diet from freshwater fish. This analysis provides the direct evidence for the consumption of aquatic resources by early modern humans in China and has implications for early modern human subsistence and demography.
ISSN:0027-8424
1091-6490
DOI:10.1073/pnas.0904826106