Journal article
Trophic ecology of a Late Pleistocene early modern human from tropical Southeast Asia inferred from zinc isotopes
Journal of Human Evolution, Vol.161, 103075
12/2021
PMID: 34655947
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Abstract
Tam Pà Ling, a cave site in northeastern Laos, has yielded the earliest skeletal evidence of Homo sapiens in mainland Southeast Asia. The reliance of Pleistocene humans in rainforest settings on plant or animal resources is still largely unstudied, mainly due to poor collagen preservation in fossils from tropical environments precluding stable nitrogen isotope analysis, the classical trophic level proxy. However, isotopic ratios of zinc (Zn) in bioapatite constitute a promising proxy to infer trophic and dietary information from fossil vertebrates, even under adverse tropical taphonomic conditions. Here, we analyzed the zinc isotope composition (66Zn/64Zn expressed as δ66Zn value) in the enamel of two teeth of the Late Pleistocene (63–46 ka) H. sapiens individual (TPL1) from Tam Pà Ling, as well as 76 mammal teeth from the same site and the nearby Nam Lot cave. The human individual exhibits relatively low enamel δ66Zn values (+0.24‰) consistent with an omnivorous diet, suggesting a dietary reliance on both plant and animal matter. These findings offer direct evidence of the broad utilization of resources from tropical rainforests by one of the earliest known anatomically modern humans in Southeast Asia.
Details
- Title
- Trophic ecology of a Late Pleistocene early modern human from tropical Southeast Asia inferred from zinc isotopes
- Creators
- Nicolas Bourgon - Max Planck SocietyKlervia Jaouen - Max Planck SocietyAnne-Marie Bacon - Université Paris CitéElise Dufour - Archéozoologie et ArchéobotaniqueJeremy McCormack - Max Planck SocietyN.-Han Tran - Max Planck SocietyManuel Trost - Max Planck SocietyDenis Fiorillo - Archéozoologie et ArchéobotaniqueTyler E Dunn - Creighton UniversityClément Zanolli - University of BordeauxAlexandra Zachwieja - University of MinnesotaPhilippe Duringer - Université de StrasbourgJean-Luc Ponche - Institut de GéographieQuentin Boesch - Université de StrasbourgPierre-Olivier Antoine - Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution de MontpellierKira E Westaway - Macquarie UniversityRenaud Joannes-Boyau - Southern Cross UniversityEric Suzzoni - Spitteurs Pan, Technical Cave Supervision and Exploration, 26420 La Chapelle en Vercors, FranceSébastien Frangeul - Spitteurs Pan, Technical Cave Supervision and Exploration, 26420 La Chapelle en Vercors, FranceFrançoise Crozier - IRD, DIADE, 34090 Montpellier, FranceFrançoise Aubaile - Université Paris CitéElise Patole-Edoumba - Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle de La RochelleThonglith Luangkhoth - Department of Heritage, Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism, Vientiane, Lao Democratic People’s RepublicViengkeo Souksavatdy - Department of Heritage, Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism, Vientiane, Lao Democratic People’s RepublicSouliphane Boualaphane - Department of Heritage, Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism, Vientiane, Lao Democratic People’s RepublicThongsa Sayavonkhamdy - Department of Heritage, Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism, Vientiane, Lao Democratic People’s RepublicPhonephanh Sichanthongtip - Department of Heritage, Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism, Vientiane, Lao Democratic People’s RepublicDaovee Sihanam - Department of Heritage, Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism, Vientiane, Lao Democratic People’s RepublicFabrice Demeter - Université Paris CitéLaura L Shackelford - University of Illinois at Urbana ChampaignJean-Jacques Hublin - Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary AnthropologyThomas Tütken - University of Mainz
- Publication Details
- Journal of Human Evolution, Vol.161, 103075
- Publisher
- Academic Press
- Grant note
- The authors would like to acknowledge the support and thank the Max Planck Society, the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (‘PALAODIET’ project: 378496604) and Biologie, Anthropologie, Biometrie, Epigenetique, Lignees (BABEL; FRE 2029 CNRS) for funding this study. T. Tütken and K. Jaouen received funding from the European Research Council under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program (grant agreement no. 681450 and no. 803676, respectively).
- Identifiers
- 991012978266402368
- Copyright
- © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
- Academic Unit
- Faculty of Science and Engineering; School of Environment, Science and Engineering; Science
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article