Authors Sponheimer M. de Ruiter D. Lee-Thorp J. Spath A. Title Sr/Ca and early hommin diets revisited: new data from modern and fossil tooth enamel Source Journal of Human Evolution. 48(2):147-156, 2005 Feb. Author Keywords Sr/ca. Hominin. Paleodiet. Paleoecology. Enamel. KeyWords Plus Calcium ratios sr/ca. Australopithecus-africanus. Physiological variability. Pleistocene hominids. Terrestrial foodwebs. Dental evidence. Lazaret cave. South-africa. Strontium. Swartkrans. Abstract A previous study of strontium/calcium (Sr/Ca) ratios in Paranthropus suggested that it consumed more animal foods than was previously believed. However, that study looked at Sr/Ca in fossil bone, which is known to be highly susceptible to diagenesis. Enamel, in contrast, is resistant to post-mortem alteration making it a more appropriate material for Sr/Ca analysis of Plio-Pleistocene fossils. Yet, we know virtually nothing about Sr/Ca in the enamel of modern African mammals, much less fossil taxa. To address this gap, we studied Sr/Ca in tooth enamel from modern mammals in the greater Kruger National Park, South Africa, as well as fossil fauna from the Sterkfontein Valley. Grazing herbivores have the highest Sr/Ca, followed by browsers and carnivores in both modern and fossil fauna. This similarity in ecological Sr/Ca patterning between modern and fossil fauna shows that diagenesis has not obscured the primary dietary signals. Australopithecus has significantly higher Sr/Ca than Paranthropus, and. higher Sr/Ca than fossil papionins, browsers, and carnivores. Paranthropus has lower Sr/Ca than grazers, but its Sr/Ca is higher or equal to that of fossil papionins, browsers, and carnivores. Thus, Sr/Ca for both hominins is relatively high, and provides no direct evidence for omnivory in either taxon. The consumption of underground resources or insects are among the possible explanations for the highly elevated Sr/Ca in Australopithecus. (c) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. [References: 53] Institution Reprint available from: Sponheimer M Univ Colorado, Dept Anthropol Boulder, CO 80309 USA Authors Peters CR. Vogel JC. Title Africa's wild C-4 plant foods and possible early hominid diets Source Journal of Human Evolution. 48(3):219-236, 2005 Mar. Author Keywords Carbon isotopes. Paleodiet. C-4 forbs. C-4 sedges. C-4 grasses. Cam plants. Ecology. Papyrus. Paleoanthropology. KeyWords Plus Dioxide compensation points. Calcium ratios sr/ca. Australopithecus-robustus. South-africa. Geographical-distribution. Serengeti ecosystem. Isotopic evidence. Swartkrans. Photosynthesis. Sterkfontein. Abstract A small minority of Africa's wild plant foods are C-4. These are primarily the seeds of some of the C-4 grasses, the rootstocks and stem/leaf bases of some of the C-4 sedges (especially papyrus), and the leaves of some of the C-4 herbaceous dicots (forbs). These wild food plants are commonly found in disturbed ground and wetlands (particularly the grasses and sedges). Multiple lines of evidence indicate that C-4 grasses were present in Africa by at least the late Miocene. It is a reasonable hypothesis that the prehistory of the C-4 sedges parallels that of the C-4 grasses, but the C-4 forbs may not have become common until the late Pleistocene. CAM plants may have a more ancient history, but offer few opportunities for an additional C-4-like dietary signal. The environmental reconstructions available for the early South African hominid sites do not indicate the presence of large wetlands, and therefore probably the absence of a strong potential for a C-4 plant food diet. However, carbon isotope analyses of tooth enamel from three species of early South African hominids have shown that there was a significant but not dominant contribution of C-4 biomass in their diets. Since it appears unlikely that this C-4 component could have come predominantly from C-4 plant foods, a broad range of potential animal contributors is briefly considered, namely invertebrates, reptiles, birds, and small mammals. It is concluded that the similar average C-4 dietary intake seen in the three South African hominid species could have been acquired by differing contributions from the various sources, without the need to assume scavenging or hunting of medium to large grazing ungulates. Effectively similar dominantly dryland paleo-environments may also be part of the explanation. Theoretically, elsewhere in southern and eastern Africa, large wetlands would have offered early hominids greater opportunities for a C-4 plant diet. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. [References: 84] Institution Reprint available from: Vogel JC 477 Kay Ave ZA-0081 Pretoria South Africa Univ Georgia, Dept Anthropol Athens, GA 30602 USA Authors Sponheimer M. Lee-Thorp J. de Ruiter D. Codron D. Codron J. Baugh AT. Thackeray F. Title Hominins, sedges, and termites: new carbon isotope data from the Sterkfontein valley and Kruger National Park Source Journal of Human Evolution. 48(3):301-312, 2005 Mar. Author Keywords Hominins. Paleodiet. Carbon isotopes. Sedges. Termites. Kruger national park. KeyWords Plus South-africa. Australopithecus-africanus. Dietary differences. Enamel carbonate. Dental evidence. Early homo. Ratios. Swartkrans. Evolution. Food. Abstract Stable carbon isotope analyses have shown that South African australopiths did not have exclusively frugivorous diets, but also consumed significant quantities of C-4 foods such as grasses, sedges, or animals that ate these foods. Yet, these studies have had significant limitations. For example, hominin sample sizes were relatively small, leading some to question the veracity of the claim for australopith C-4 consumption. In addition, it has been difficult to determine which C-4 resources were actually utilized, which is at least partially due to a lack of stable isotope data on some purported australopith foods. Here we begin to address these lacunae by presenting carbon isotope data for 14 new hominin specimens, as well as for two potential C-4 foods (termites and sedges). The new data confirm that non-C-3 foods were heavily utilized by australopiths, making up about 40% and 35% of Australopithecus and Paranthropus diets respectively. Most termites in the savanna-woodland biome of the Kruger National Park, South Africa, have intermediate carbon isotope compositions indicating mixed C-3/C-4 diets. Only 28% of the sedges in Kruger were C-4, and few if any had well-developed rhizomes and tubers that make some sedges attractive foods. We conclude that although termites and sedges might have contributed to the C-4 signal in South African australopiths, other C-4 foods were also important. Lastly, we suggest that the consumption of C-4 foods is a fundamental hominin trait that, along with bipedalism, allowed australopiths to pioneer increasingly open and seasonal environments. (c) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. [References: 62] Institution Reprint available from: Sponheimer M Univ Colorado, Dept Anthropol Boulder, CO 80309 USA Authors Liu W. Zheng L. Title Tooth wear difference between the Yuanmou hominoid and Lufengpithecus Source International Journal of Primatology. 26(2):491-506, 2005 Apr. Author Keywords Yuanmou hominoid. Lufengpithecus. Tooth wear. KeyWords Plus Enamel thickness. Diet. Australopithecus. Evolution. China. Abstract The Late Miocene hominoids recovered from Lufeng (Lufengpithecus) and Yuanmou of Yunnan Province, China, are among the most numerous hominoid fossils in Eurasia. They have yielded critical evidence for the evolutionary history, biogeography and paleobiology of Miocene hominoids. We examined and compared the wear pattern and differences of 804 molars of the Yuanmou hominoid and Lufengpithecus. Our results indicate that both the upper and lower molars of the Yuanmou hominoids were more heavily worn than those of Lufengpithecus. The wear patterns of the individual molars between the Yuanmou hominoid and Lufengpithecus also are different. The heaviest wear of lower molars of the Yuanmou hominoid occur in M-2, followed by M-1 and M-3. In Lufengpithecus, M-1 and M-3 were more heavily worn than M-2. There are differences in wear between the upper and lower molars for the two hominoids. Among the various factors related to tooth wear, we suggest that the main reason for the tooth wear differences between the Yuanmou hominoid and Lufengpithecus may be that they had different diets. More soft dietary items like leaves and berries were probably consumed by Lufengpithecus, and the Yuanmou hominoid may mainly have feed on harder or frugivorous diets. This result complements findings from previous studies of tooth size proportion, and the development of lower molar shearing crests in the 2 samples. Enamel thickness, living environment, behavior patterns, and population structure also might account for dental wear differences between the Yuanmou hominoid and Lufengpithecus. [References: 26] Institution Reprint available from: Liu W Chinese Acad Sci, Inst Vertebrate Paleontol & Paleoanthropol POB 643 Beijing 100044 Peoples R China