New Research Using Zinc Isotope Analysis Suggests Neanderthals Could be Carnivores

New research findings using zinc isotope analysis suggest that Neanderthals in the food chain could be carnivores.

CNRS researchers led the study. The research findings were published in the PNAS journal on October 17, 2022. It is also available to read in Phys.Org.

The idea in which the food chain Neanderthals belonged is still a question among scientists. Different researchers showed that Neanderthals were consumers of plants based on the gathered evidence of their dental tartar found in the Iberian Peninsula. There are also researches outside the Iberia revealed that Neanderthals consumed almost meat in their lifetime.

Carnivores

(Photo by Marco Di Lauro/Getty Images)

With the question in mind, new research employed the zinc isotope analysis to understand better evidence on which position of the food chain Neanderthals belong. The research studied the molar of the said species. They found that Neanderthals discovered at the Gabasa site in Spain appeared to be carnivores.

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According to Britannica, Neanderthal is also known as Homo neanderthalensis, Homo sapiens neanderthalensis. It explained that they existed 200,000 years ago during the time of the Pleistocene Epoch.

The report also added that Neanderthals lived in places of Eurasia, the Atlantic Regions, Europe, Central Asia, the Mediterranean, and Southwest Asia.

Moreover, it added that Neanderthals managed to live in extreme environments during the last ice age. They adapted and developed a thriving culture using carved or stone tools, which they used for hunting.

The research noted that to determine the Neanderthal's place in the food chain, the researchers observed Neanderthal's nitrogen isotopes of the bone collagen and by extracting proteins. However, the process was difficult because it required temperate environments. Without the right conditions, analyzing the nitrogen isotope would become impossible.

As a result, the researcher employed a different analysis tool due to the constraints. According to the article, CNRS researcher Klevia Jaouen with her team used the zinc isotope ratios to analyze the tooth enamel. What is amazing is that the researcher's method would be the first time to study the Neanderthals.

According to the study, the researchers found the Neanderthal from the Gabasa site appeared to be a carnivore, showing that it did not eat any prey's blood.

Moreover, the study noted the importance of zinc isotope analysis to know if omnivores or carnivores. The researchers would conduct the same method on other sites to support their claims further, including the Payre site in southeast France.

6,000-year-old skull in Taiwan

In the previous report this October 2022, scientists discovered a 6,000 years old skull in a cave in Taiwan. The study said it could prove the potential connection of an indigenous tribe that had previously lived in the area.

Based on the study, experts studied the DNA of the discovered skulls. In the findings, they explained that the bones showed a resemblance with the Negritos in the Philippines and South Africa, noting that the individual tribe had a small body size.

However, the study considered that they did not know what happened to the indigenous tribe or what caused their disappearance.