PALEODIET: Calibration and application of novel stable isotope (Ca, Sr and Zn) proxies for paleodietary reconstructions

• Applicants: Dr. Klervia Jaouen; Professor Dr. Thomas Tütken
• Subject Area: Prehistory and World Archaeology ; Classical, Roman, Christian and Islamic Archaeology ; Mineralogy, Petrology and Geochemistry
• Term: from 2017 to 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 378496604

• Final Report Year: 2023

Final Report Abstract

The main outcomes of our research were the discoveries of: The preservation of diet-related Zn isotope ratios in fossil tooth enamel even in the absence of any collagen preservation, which is typically used for stable isotope analysis for diet reconstructions. - The trophic level assessment of two fossil hominins for which diet reconstruction was not possible otherwise in the absence of collagen preservation: one Homo sapiens of Tam Pa Ling (Late Pleistocene, Laos) and one Homo neanderthalensis of Gabasa (Middle Pleistocene, Spain). - The confirmation that hyenas systematically exhibit higher Zn isotope ratios compared to other sympatric carnivore species, probably because of bone consumption. - The absence of a systematical difference between grazers and browsers in their enamel Zn isotope ratios. - The fact that Zn isotope ratios can track the weaning age among human populations.

Publications

• What is our toolbox of analytical chemistry for exploring ancient hominin diets in the absence of organic preservation?. Quaternary Science Reviews, 197, 307-318.
  Jaouen, Klervia
  
• Zinc isotope variations in archeological human teeth (Lapa do Santo, Brazil) reveal dietary transitions in childhood and no contamination from gloves. PLOS ONE, 15(5), e0232379.
  Jaouen, Klervia; Trost, Manuel; Bourgon, Nicolas; Colleter, Rozenn; Le Cabec, Adeline; Tütken, Thomas; Elias, Oliveira Rodrigo; Pons, Marie Laure; Méjean, Pauline; Steinbrenner, Sven; Chmeleff, Jérôme & Strauss, André
  
• Zinc isotopes in Late Pleistocene fossil teeth from a Southeast Asian cave setting preserve paleodietary information. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 117(9), 4675-4681.
  Bourgon, Nicolas; Jaouen, Klervia; Bacon, Anne-Marie; Jochum, Klaus Peter; Dufour, Elise; Duringer, Philippe; Ponche, Jean-Luc; Joannes-Boyau, Renaud; Boesch, Quentin; Antoine, Pierre-Olivier; Hullot, Manon; Weis, Ulrike; Schulz-Kornas, Ellen; Trost, Manuel; Fiorillo, Denis; Demeter, Fabrice; Patole-Edoumba, Elise; Shackelford, Laura L.; Dunn, Tyler E. ... & Tütken, Thomas
  
• Subarctic climate for the earliestHomo sapiensin Europe. Science Advances, 7(39).
  Pederzani, Sarah; Britton, Kate; Aldeias, Vera; Bourgon, Nicolas; Fewlass, Helen; Lauer, Tobias; McPherron, Shannon P.; Rezek, Zeljko; Sirakov, Nikolay; Smith, Geoff M.; Spasov, Rosen; Tran, N.-Han; Tsanova, Tsenka & Hublin, Jean-Jacques
  
• The last battle of Anne of Brittany: Solving mass grave through an interdisciplinary approach (paleopathology, biological anthropology, history, multiple isotopes and radiocarbon dating). PLOS ONE, 16(5), e0248086.
  Colleter, Rozenn; Bataille, Clément P.; Dabernat, Henri; Pichot, Daniel; Hamon, Philippe; Duchesne, Sylvie; Labaune-Jean, Françoise; Jean, Stéphane; Le Cloirec, Gaétan; Milano, Stefania; Trost, Manuel; Steinbrenner, Sven; Marchal, Marine; Guilbeau-Frugier, Céline; Telmon, Norbert; Crubézy, Éric & Jaouen, Klervia
  
• Triple sulfur-oxygen-strontium isotopes probabilistic geographic assignment of archaeological remains using a novel sulfur isoscape of western Europe. PLOS ONE, 16(5), e0250383.
  Bataille, Clément P.; Jaouen, Klervia; Milano, Stefania; Trost, Manuel; Steinbrenner, Sven; Crubézy, Éric & Colleter, Rozenn
  
• Trophic ecology of a Late Pleistocene early modern human from tropical Southeast Asia inferred from zinc isotopes. Journal of Human Evolution, 161, 103075.
  Bourgon, Nicolas; Jaouen, Klervia; Bacon, Anne-Marie; Dufour, Elise; McCormack, Jeremy; Tran, N.-Han; Trost, Manuel; Fiorillo, Denis; Dunn, Tyler E.; Zanolli, Clément; Zachwieja, Alexandra; Duringer, Philippe; Ponche, Jean-Luc; Boesch, Quentin; Antoine, Pierre-Olivier; Westaway, Kira E.; Joannes-Boyau, Renaud; Suzzoni, Eric; Frangeul, Sébastien ... & Tütken, Thomas
  
• Trophic position of Otodus megalodon and great white sharks through time revealed by zinc isotopes. Nature Communications, 13(1)
  McCormack, Jeremy; Griffiths, Michael L.; Kim, Sora L.; Shimada, Kenshu; Karnes, Molly; Maisch, Harry; Pederzani, Sarah; Bourgon, Nicolas; Jaouen, Klervia; Becker, Martin A.; Jöns, Niels; Sisma-Ventura, Guy; Straube, Nicolas; Pollerspöck, Jürgen; Hublin, Jean-Jacques; Eagle, Robert A. & Tütken, Thomas
  
• Zinc isotopes from archaeological bones provide reliable trophic level information for marine mammals. Communications Biology, 4(1).
  McCormack, Jeremy; Szpak, Paul; Bourgon, Nicolas; Richards, Michael; Hyland, Corrie; Méjean, Pauline; Hublin, Jean-Jacques & Jaouen, Klervia
  
• A Neandertal dietary conundrum: Insights provided by tooth enamel Zn isotopes from Gabasa, Spain. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 119(43).
  Jaouen, Klervia; Villalba-Mouco, Vanessa; Smith, Geoff M.; Trost, Manuel; Leichliter, Jennifer; Lüdecke, Tina; Méjean, Pauline; Mandrou, Stéphanie; Chmeleff, Jérôme; Guiserix, Danaé; Bourgon, Nicolas; Blasco, Fernanda; Mendes, Cardoso Jéssica; Duquenoy, Camille; Moubtahij, Zineb; Salazar, Garcia Domingo C.; Richards, Michael; Tütken, Thomas; Hublin, Jean-Jacques ... & Montes, Lourdes