The ecology, subsistence and diet of ~45,000-year-old Homo sapiens at Ilsenhöhle in Ranis, Germany
Recent excavations at Ranis (Germany) identified an early dispersal of Homo sapiens into the higher latitudes of Europe by 45,000 years ago. Here we integrate results from zooarchaeology, palaeoproteomics, sediment DNA and stable isotopes to characterize the ecology, subsistence and diet of these ea...
Published in: | Nature Ecology & Evolution |
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2024
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Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/1983/08b580a7-18b5-426a-b233-6ff608f5b794 https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/en/publications/08b580a7-18b5-426a-b233-6ff608f5b794 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-023-02303-6 |
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ftubristolcris:oai:research-information.bris.ac.uk:publications/08b580a7-18b5-426a-b233-6ff608f5b794 2024-09-15T18:39:49+00:00 The ecology, subsistence and diet of ~45,000-year-old Homo sapiens at Ilsenhöhle in Ranis, Germany Smith, Geoff M. Ruebens, Karen Zavala, Elena Irene Sinet-Mathiot, Virginie Fewlass, Helen Pederzani, Sarah Mylopotamitaki, Dorothea Rougier, Hélène Stahlschmidt, Mareike Meyer, Matthias Meller, Harald Dietl, Holger Orschiedt, Jörg Schüler, Tim McPherron, Shannon P. Weiss, Marcel Hublin, Jean-Jacques Welker, Frido 2024-03-01 https://hdl.handle.net/1983/08b580a7-18b5-426a-b233-6ff608f5b794 https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/en/publications/08b580a7-18b5-426a-b233-6ff608f5b794 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-023-02303-6 eng eng https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/en/publications/08b580a7-18b5-426a-b233-6ff608f5b794 info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Smith , G M , Ruebens , K , Zavala , E I , Sinet-Mathiot , V , Fewlass , H , Pederzani , S , Mylopotamitaki , D , Rougier , H , Stahlschmidt , M , Meyer , M , Meller , H , Dietl , H , Orschiedt , J , Schüler , T , McPherron , S P , Weiss , M , Hublin , J-J & Welker , F 2024 , ' The ecology, subsistence and diet of ~45,000-year-old Homo sapiens at Ilsenhöhle in Ranis, Germany ' , Nature Ecology & Evolution , vol. 8 , no. 3 , pp. 564-577 . https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-023-02303-6 article 2024 ftubristolcris https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-023-02303-6 2024-08-28T01:08:38Z Recent excavations at Ranis (Germany) identified an early dispersal of Homo sapiens into the higher latitudes of Europe by 45,000 years ago. Here we integrate results from zooarchaeology, palaeoproteomics, sediment DNA and stable isotopes to characterize the ecology, subsistence and diet of these early H. sapiens. We assessed all bone remains (n = 1,754) from the 2016–2022 excavations through morphology (n = 1,218) or palaeoproteomics (zooarchaeology by mass spectrometry (n = 536) and species by proteome investigation (n = 212)). Dominant taxa include reindeer, cave bear, woolly rhinoceros and horse, indicating cold climatic conditions. Numerous carnivore modifications, alongside sparse cut-marked and burnt bones, illustrate a predominant use of the site by hibernating cave bears and denning hyaenas, coupled with a fluctuating human presence. Faunal diversity and high carnivore input were further supported by ancient mammalian DNA recovered from 26 sediment samples. Bulk collagen carbon and nitrogen stable isotope data from 52 animal and 10 human remains confirm a cold steppe/tundra setting and indicate a homogenous human diet based on large terrestrial mammals. This lower-density archaeological signature matches other Lincombian–Ranisian–Jerzmanowician sites and is best explained by expedient visits of short duration by small, mobile groups of pioneer H. sapiens. Article in Journal/Newspaper Tundra University of Bristol: Bristol Research Nature Ecology & Evolution 8 3 564 577 |
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University of Bristol: Bristol Research |
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ftubristolcris |
language |
English |
description |
Recent excavations at Ranis (Germany) identified an early dispersal of Homo sapiens into the higher latitudes of Europe by 45,000 years ago. Here we integrate results from zooarchaeology, palaeoproteomics, sediment DNA and stable isotopes to characterize the ecology, subsistence and diet of these early H. sapiens. We assessed all bone remains (n = 1,754) from the 2016–2022 excavations through morphology (n = 1,218) or palaeoproteomics (zooarchaeology by mass spectrometry (n = 536) and species by proteome investigation (n = 212)). Dominant taxa include reindeer, cave bear, woolly rhinoceros and horse, indicating cold climatic conditions. Numerous carnivore modifications, alongside sparse cut-marked and burnt bones, illustrate a predominant use of the site by hibernating cave bears and denning hyaenas, coupled with a fluctuating human presence. Faunal diversity and high carnivore input were further supported by ancient mammalian DNA recovered from 26 sediment samples. Bulk collagen carbon and nitrogen stable isotope data from 52 animal and 10 human remains confirm a cold steppe/tundra setting and indicate a homogenous human diet based on large terrestrial mammals. This lower-density archaeological signature matches other Lincombian–Ranisian–Jerzmanowician sites and is best explained by expedient visits of short duration by small, mobile groups of pioneer H. sapiens. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Smith, Geoff M. Ruebens, Karen Zavala, Elena Irene Sinet-Mathiot, Virginie Fewlass, Helen Pederzani, Sarah Mylopotamitaki, Dorothea Rougier, Hélène Stahlschmidt, Mareike Meyer, Matthias Meller, Harald Dietl, Holger Orschiedt, Jörg Schüler, Tim McPherron, Shannon P. Weiss, Marcel Hublin, Jean-Jacques Welker, Frido |
spellingShingle |
Smith, Geoff M. Ruebens, Karen Zavala, Elena Irene Sinet-Mathiot, Virginie Fewlass, Helen Pederzani, Sarah Mylopotamitaki, Dorothea Rougier, Hélène Stahlschmidt, Mareike Meyer, Matthias Meller, Harald Dietl, Holger Orschiedt, Jörg Schüler, Tim McPherron, Shannon P. Weiss, Marcel Hublin, Jean-Jacques Welker, Frido The ecology, subsistence and diet of ~45,000-year-old Homo sapiens at Ilsenhöhle in Ranis, Germany |
author_facet |
Smith, Geoff M. Ruebens, Karen Zavala, Elena Irene Sinet-Mathiot, Virginie Fewlass, Helen Pederzani, Sarah Mylopotamitaki, Dorothea Rougier, Hélène Stahlschmidt, Mareike Meyer, Matthias Meller, Harald Dietl, Holger Orschiedt, Jörg Schüler, Tim McPherron, Shannon P. Weiss, Marcel Hublin, Jean-Jacques Welker, Frido |
author_sort |
Smith, Geoff M. |
title |
The ecology, subsistence and diet of ~45,000-year-old Homo sapiens at Ilsenhöhle in Ranis, Germany |
title_short |
The ecology, subsistence and diet of ~45,000-year-old Homo sapiens at Ilsenhöhle in Ranis, Germany |
title_full |
The ecology, subsistence and diet of ~45,000-year-old Homo sapiens at Ilsenhöhle in Ranis, Germany |
title_fullStr |
The ecology, subsistence and diet of ~45,000-year-old Homo sapiens at Ilsenhöhle in Ranis, Germany |
title_full_unstemmed |
The ecology, subsistence and diet of ~45,000-year-old Homo sapiens at Ilsenhöhle in Ranis, Germany |
title_sort |
ecology, subsistence and diet of ~45,000-year-old homo sapiens at ilsenhöhle in ranis, germany |
publishDate |
2024 |
url |
https://hdl.handle.net/1983/08b580a7-18b5-426a-b233-6ff608f5b794 https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/en/publications/08b580a7-18b5-426a-b233-6ff608f5b794 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-023-02303-6 |
genre |
Tundra |
genre_facet |
Tundra |
op_source |
Smith , G M , Ruebens , K , Zavala , E I , Sinet-Mathiot , V , Fewlass , H , Pederzani , S , Mylopotamitaki , D , Rougier , H , Stahlschmidt , M , Meyer , M , Meller , H , Dietl , H , Orschiedt , J , Schüler , T , McPherron , S P , Weiss , M , Hublin , J-J & Welker , F 2024 , ' The ecology, subsistence and diet of ~45,000-year-old Homo sapiens at Ilsenhöhle in Ranis, Germany ' , Nature Ecology & Evolution , vol. 8 , no. 3 , pp. 564-577 . https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-023-02303-6 |
op_relation |
https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/en/publications/08b580a7-18b5-426a-b233-6ff608f5b794 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-023-02303-6 |
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Nature Ecology & Evolution |
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8 |
container_issue |
3 |
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