Dietary reconstruction of the El Sidron Neandertal familial group (Spain) in the context of other Neandertal and modern hunter-gatherer groups. A molar microwear texture analysis

作者：Estalrrich Almudena^*; El Zaatari Sireen; Rosas Antonio

来源：Journal of Human Evolution, 2017, 104: 13-22.

DOI：10.1016/j.jhevol.2016.12.003

• Scale-sensitive fractal analysis
• MIS 3
• Homo neanderthalensis
• Diet

Here, we present the analysis of occlusal molar microwear textures of eight individuals from the El Sidron Neandertal group (Spain). The aims of the study were: 1) to document potential age-, sex-, and maternal lineage-related differences in diet within a Neandertal familial group, and 2) to place the diet of El Sidron individuals in the context of those of other Neandertal groups. This study also offers an interpretation of the diet of the El Sidron Neandertals by comparing their microwear signatures to those of recent hunter-gatherer populations with diverse but known diets. The intra-group examination of the microwear signatures are consistent with the females of the El Sidron group having had more abrasive diets or having used their teeth in more para-masticatory activities than did the males. Aside from the potential sex-related differences in diet, no additional intra-group dietary separation, such as by age group or maternal lineage, was observed. In comparison to other Neandertals, El Sidron individuals, as a group, have microwear signatures most similar to those of other Neandertals from wooded habitats and different from those that lived in more open habitats. This result is expected based on the available paleoenvironmental reconstructions from El Sidron Cave. The diet of the El Sidron Neandertals, just like their Neandertal counterparts from similar wooded habitats, is interpreted as having been mixed, consisting of both meat and vegetable foods.

• 出版日期2017-3