Trophic ecology of a Late Pleistocene early modern human from tropical Southeast Asia inferred from zinc isotopes

Nicolas Bourgon; Klervia Jaouen; Anne-Marie Bacon; Elise Dufour; Jeremy McCormack; N.-Han Tran; Manuel Trost; Denis Fiorillo; Tyler E. Dunn; Clément Zanolli; Alexandra Zachwieja; Philippe Duringer; Jean-Luc Ponche; Quentin Boesch; Pierre-Olivier Antoine; Kira E. Westaway; Renaud Joannes-Boyau; Eric Suzzoni; Sébastien Frangeul; Françoise Crozier; Françoise Aubaile; Elise Patole-Edoumba; Thonglith Luangkhoth; Viengkeo Souksavatdy; Souliphane Boualaphane; Thongsa Sayavonkhamdy; Phonephanh Sichanthongtip; Daovee Sihanam; Fabrice Demeter; Laura L. Shackelford; Jean-Jacques Hublin; Thomas Tütken

doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2021.103075

Trophic ecology of a Late Pleistocene early modern human from tropical Southeast Asia inferred from zinc isotopes

Nicolas Bourgon^*, Klervia Jaouen, Anne-Marie Bacon, Elise Dufour, Jeremy McCormack, N.-Han Tran, Manuel Trost, Denis Fiorillo, Tyler E. Dunn, Clément Zanolli, Alexandra Zachwieja, Philippe Duringer, Jean-Luc Ponche, Quentin Boesch, Pierre-Olivier Antoine, Kira E. Westaway, Renaud Joannes-Boyau, Eric Suzzoni, Sébastien Frangeul, Françoise CrozierFrançoise Aubaile, Elise Patole-Edoumba, Thonglith Luangkhoth, Viengkeo Souksavatdy, Souliphane Boualaphane, Thongsa Sayavonkhamdy, Phonephanh Sichanthongtip, Daovee Sihanam, Fabrice Demeter, Laura L. Shackelford, Jean-Jacques Hublin, Thomas Tütken

^*Corresponding author af dette arbejde

Section for Geogenetics

Publikation: Bidrag til tidsskrift › Tidsskriftartikel › Forskning › peer review

21 Citationer (Scopus)

13 Downloads (Pure)

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.

Originalsprog	Engelsk
Artikelnummer	103075
Tidsskrift	Journal of Human Evolution
Vol/bind	161
Antal sider	10
ISSN	0047-2484
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2021.103075
Status	Udgivet - 2021

Bibliografisk note

Funding Information:
The authors would like to thank O. Tombret (UMR 7209 AASPE) for technical support. Additional thanks go to Franziska Honigschnabel (Multimedia Department, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig) and Jonathan Schultz (Human Evolution Department, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig) for their help with picture and figure presentation. Finally, the authors would also like to thank V. Souksavatdy and S. Luangaphay of the Department of National Heritage, Ministry of Information and Culture in Vientiane, Laos, for their authorization to study the Nam Lot and Tam P? Ling fossil collections. The authors would like to acknowledge the support and thank the Max Planck Society, the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (?PAL?ODIET? project: 378496604) and Biologie, Anthropologie, Biom?trie, Epig?n?tique, Lign?es (BABEL; FRE 2029 CNRS) for funding this study. T. T?tken 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).

Funding Information:
The authors would like to thank O. Tombret (UMR 7209 AASPE) for technical support. Additional thanks go to Franziska Honigschnabel (Multimedia Department, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig) and Jonathan Schultz (Human Evolution Department, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig) for their help with picture and figure presentation. Finally, the authors would also like to thank V. Souksavatdy and S. Luangaphay of the Department of National Heritage, Ministry of Information and Culture in Vientiane, Laos, for their authorization to study the Nam Lot and Tam Pà Ling fossil collections. The authors would like to acknowledge the support and thank the Max Planck Society, the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (‘PALÄODIET’ project: 378496604 ) and Biologie, Anthropologie, Biométrie, Epigénétique, Lignées (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).

Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Elsevier Ltd

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10.1016/j.jhevol.2021.103075

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Citationsformater

Bourgon, N., Jaouen, K., Bacon, A-M., Dufour, E., McCormack, J., Tran, N. -H., Trost, M., Fiorillo, D., Dunn, T. E., Zanolli, C., Zachwieja, A., Duringer, P., Ponche, J-L., Boesch, Q., Antoine, P-O., Westaway, K. E., Joannes-Boyau, R., Suzzoni, E., Frangeul, S., ... Tütken, T. (2021). Trophic ecology of a Late Pleistocene early modern human from tropical Southeast Asia inferred from zinc isotopes. Journal of Human Evolution, 161, [103075]. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2021.103075

Trophic ecology of a Late Pleistocene early modern human from tropical Southeast Asia inferred from zinc isotopes. / 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; Crozier, Françoise; Aubaile, Françoise; Patole-Edoumba, Elise; Luangkhoth, Thonglith; Souksavatdy, Viengkeo; Boualaphane, Souliphane; Sayavonkhamdy, Thongsa; Sichanthongtip, Phonephanh; Sihanam, Daovee; Demeter, Fabrice; Shackelford, Laura L.; Hublin, Jean-Jacques; Tütken, Thomas.

I: Journal of Human Evolution, Bind 161, 103075, 2021.

Publikation: Bidrag til tidsskrift › Tidsskriftartikel › Forskning › peer review

Bourgon, N, Jaouen, K, Bacon, A-M, Dufour, E, McCormack, J, Tran, N-H, Trost, M, Fiorillo, D, Dunn, TE, Zanolli, C, Zachwieja, A, Duringer, P, Ponche, J-L, Boesch, Q, Antoine, P-O, Westaway, KE, Joannes-Boyau, R, Suzzoni, E, Frangeul, S, Crozier, F, Aubaile, F, Patole-Edoumba, E, Luangkhoth, T, Souksavatdy, V, Boualaphane, S, Sayavonkhamdy, T, Sichanthongtip, P, Sihanam, D, Demeter, F, Shackelford, LL, Hublin, J-J & Tütken, T 2021, 'Trophic ecology of a Late Pleistocene early modern human from tropical Southeast Asia inferred from zinc isotopes', Journal of Human Evolution, bind 161, 103075. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2021.103075

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 ; Crozier, Françoise ; Aubaile, Françoise ; Patole-Edoumba, Elise ; Luangkhoth, Thonglith ; Souksavatdy, Viengkeo ; Boualaphane, Souliphane ; Sayavonkhamdy, Thongsa ; Sichanthongtip, Phonephanh ; Sihanam, Daovee ; Demeter, Fabrice ; Shackelford, Laura L. ; Hublin, Jean-Jacques ; Tütken, Thomas. / Trophic ecology of a Late Pleistocene early modern human from tropical Southeast Asia inferred from zinc isotopes. I: Journal of Human Evolution. 2021 ; Bind 161.

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abstract = "Tam P{\`a} 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 P{\`a} 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.",

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year = "2021",

doi = "10.1016/j.jhevol.2021.103075",

language = "English",

volume = "161",

journal = "Journal of Human Evolution",

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T1 - Trophic ecology of a Late Pleistocene early modern human from tropical Southeast Asia inferred from zinc isotopes

AU - Bourgon, Nicolas

AU - Jaouen, Klervia

AU - Bacon, Anne-Marie

AU - Dufour, Elise

AU - McCormack, Jeremy

AU - Tran, N.-Han

AU - Trost, Manuel

AU - Fiorillo, Denis

AU - Dunn, Tyler E.

AU - Zanolli, Clément

AU - Zachwieja, Alexandra

AU - Duringer, Philippe

AU - Ponche, Jean-Luc

AU - Boesch, Quentin

AU - Antoine, Pierre-Olivier

AU - Westaway, Kira E.

AU - Joannes-Boyau, Renaud

AU - Suzzoni, Eric

AU - Frangeul, Sébastien

AU - Crozier, Françoise

AU - Aubaile, Françoise

AU - Patole-Edoumba, Elise

AU - Luangkhoth, Thonglith

AU - Souksavatdy, Viengkeo

AU - Boualaphane, Souliphane

AU - Sayavonkhamdy, Thongsa

AU - Sichanthongtip, Phonephanh

AU - Sihanam, Daovee

AU - Demeter, Fabrice

AU - Shackelford, Laura L.

AU - Hublin, Jean-Jacques

AU - Tütken, Thomas

PY - 2021

Y1 - 2021

N2 - 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.

AB - 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.

KW - Diet

KW - Enamel

KW - Homo sapiens

KW - Hunter-gatherer

KW - Stable carbon isotopes

KW - Tam Pà Ling

U2 - 10.1016/j.jhevol.2021.103075

DO - 10.1016/j.jhevol.2021.103075

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 34655947

AN - SCOPUS:85117069511

VL - 161

JO - Journal of Human Evolution

JF - Journal of Human Evolution

SN - 0047-2484

M1 - 103075

ER -