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Dietary evidence from Central Asian Neanderthals

A combined isotope and plant microremains approach at Chagyrskaya Cave (Altai, Russia)

Bibliographic Data

ID5709056
AuthorsDomingo C Salazar-García, Domingo C Salazar‐garcía (0000-0002-8017-0194, Ikerbasque, corresponding author), Robert C Power (0000-0001-7425-5709, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, corresponding author), Natalia Rudaya (0000-0003-1536-6470, Institute of Archaeology), Ksenya Kolobova (Institute of Archaeology), Sergey Markin (0000-0002-4528-8613, Institute of Archaeology), A I Krivoshapkin (0000-0002-5327-3438, Institute of Archaeology), Andrey Krivoshapkin, Amanda G Henry (0000-0002-2923-4199, Leiden University), Michael P Richards, Michael Richards (0000-0001-5274-8887, Simon Fraser University), Viola Bence (0000-0001-8052-707X, University of Toronto), Bence Viola
Year2021
Volume156
Pages102985
Publication date2021-07-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Human Evolution (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0047-2484 • E-ISSN: 1095-8606
PublisherElsevier BV (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1016/j.jhevol.2021.102985
PMID34051612
OpenAlexW3165862705
LanguageEN
Citations received19
References cited106

Neanderthals are known primarily from their habitation of Western Eurasia, but they also populated large expanses of Northern Asia for thousands of years. Owing to a sparse archaeological record, relatively little is known about these eastern Neanderthal populations. Unlike in their western range, there are limited zooarchaeological and paleobotanical studies that inform us about the nature of their subsistence. Here, we perform a combined analysis of carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes on bone collagen and microbotanical remains in dental calculus to reconstruct the diet of eastern Neanderthals at Chagyrskaya Cave in the Altai Mountains of Southern Siberia, Russia. Stable isotopes identify one individual as possessing a high trophic level due to the hunting of large- and medium-sized ungulates, while the analysis of dental calculus also indicates the presence of plants in the diet of this individual and others from the site. These findings indicate eastern Neanderthals may have had broadly similar subsistence patterns to those elsewhere in their range

Agriculture · Archaeology · Biology · Cave · Geography · Isotope analysis · Neanderthal · Range (aeronautics · Stable isotope ratio · Subsistence agriculture · Taphonomy · Trophic level · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Ecology · Geology · Isotope Analysis in Ecology · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology

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Unique citing works19
Citations per year3,8
Citation span2021 - 2026 (6)
Citation velocitycurrent
Highly citedNo
Citation typesNeutral: 18
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