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