Postmortem preservation and alteration of in vivo bone collagen isotope ratios in relation to palaeodietary reconstruction

DeNiro, Michael J.

doi:10.1038/317806a0

Cited by 2,057 publications

(1,365 citation statements)

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“…Samples heated above 200 8C only show collagen contents under 1%. An indicator for collagen quality is the C/ N-molar value [45]. In our findings, altered C/N-molar ratios below the suggested range from 2.9 to 3.6 (indicating intact collagen) are encountered in samples heated above 200 8C ( Table 1).…”

Section: Indicators For the Overall Modification Processsupporting

confidence: 50%

Research potential and limitations of trace analyses of cremated remains

Harbeck

Schleuder

Schneider

et al. 2011

Forensic Science International

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Section: Indicators For the Overall Modification Processsupporting

confidence: 50%

Research potential and limitations of trace analyses of cremated remains

Harbeck

Schleuder

Schneider

et al. 2011

Forensic Science International

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“…We do not observe significant differences in these values between the different preparation methods and the parameters indicate well-preserved collagen (DeNiro 1985;Ambrose 1990). …”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 51%

A Comparison of Bone Pretreatment Methods for AMS Dating of Samples >30,000 BP

2011

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ABSTRACT. Bone is a commonly used material for radiocarbon dating, yet at ages close to the limit of the method (>30,000 BP), it is a substantial challenge to remove contamination and produce accurate ages. We report here on the preliminary results of a dating study of 2 bones older than 30,000 yr, which were each treated with a suite of pretreatment procedures, including ultrafiltration (Brown et al. 1988). Substantial differences in the 14 C ages were observed, which is most likely linked to crucial steps in the removal of contamination both in the bone and in the laboratory. Using a comprehensive sequence of pretreatment procedures, including ultrafiltration, we obtain generally older ages.

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“…Collagen from bones and teeth is the preferred substrate for carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analysis, because it provides accepted quality indicators of its isotope integrity and it is the only considerable nitrogen source from skeletal remains (De Niro, 1985;Van Klinken, 1999). Several characteristics of collagen must be considered when proceeding with dietary reconstruction.…”

Section: Stable Isotopes and Palaeodietary Reconstructionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neanderthal diets in central and southeastern Mediterranean Iberia

Salazar‐García

Power

Serra³

et al. 2013

Quaternary International

116

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a b s t r a c tDuring recent decades, Neanderthal diet has been a major research topic in palaeoanthropology. This has been accelerated by the maturation of different techniques, which have produced a plethora of new information. However, this proliferation of data has led to confusing and contradictory results. Furthermore, most of the ecological dietary studies have been carried out on specimens drawn from different time periods and regions, almost exclusively those characterized by cold, open environmental conditions. Subsistence models based on these fragmentary data have been applied to Neanderthals living in a variety of different regions and environments, even though their dietary strategies may have been as variable as regions they inhabited. In this paper we integrate different dietary approaches (studies of the zooarchaeology, stable isotopes and plant remains) from the central and southeastern Mediterranean coast of Iberia in order to develop a broader and more complex picture of Neanderthal diet in different Mediterranean environmental conditions. Our results suggest that there may have been some minor dietary variation due to climatic or environmental differences, but that Neanderthal diet focussed on large terrestrial game, supplemented by plant foods when these were available.Ó 2013 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved. Neanderthal dietary ecologyThe dietary behaviours of Neanderthals and the relationship between their diet and their social organization, technological abilities, and even their eventual disappearance, have been hotly debated in the anthropological literature. Examining the diets of Neanderthals requires the synthesis of data that have been collected by numerous researchers over the last 150 years. In many cases, the differences between Neanderthal and early modern human diets have been emphasized, at the expense of cogent discussion of the variation within each group. Early modern humans lived in a wide variety of environmental contexts and likely pursued a variety of behaviours throughout this range of environments. The exclusively Eurasian distribution of Neanderthals did not include as many environments, but neither was it the exclusively cold Arctic climate that many have supposed it to be. A more detailed examination of the Neanderthal range and the effects of shifting global climates reveals that this group would have been exposed to a diverse range of environments (Hoffecker, 2009;MacDonald et al., 2009). Just as modern human dietary behaviour likely varied with environments, so, too, can we predict that Neanderthals had different diets in different environments.Our understanding of the diets of Neanderthals comes from three main lines of evidence. The first is the study of the human remains themselves, including the isotope signal recorded in their bones, the microwear on their teeth, and how factors of their lifehistory are related to diet. The second line of evidence includes the study of the remains of their food, in the form of animal and plant remains preserved ...

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Postmortem preservation and alteration of in vivo bone collagen isotope ratios in relation to palaeodietary reconstruction

Cited by 2,057 publications

References 16 publications

Research potential and limitations of trace analyses of cremated remains

Research potential and limitations of trace analyses of cremated remains

A Comparison of Bone Pretreatment Methods for AMS Dating of Samples >30,000 BP

Neanderthal diets in central and southeastern Mediterranean Iberia

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