Stable isotope-based diet reconstructions of Turkana Basin hominins
Open accessAbstract
Hominin fossil evidence in the Turkana Basin in Kenya from ca . 4.1 to 1.4 Ma samples two archaic early hominin genera and records some of the early evolutionary history of Paranthropus and Homo . Stable carbon isotopes in fossil tooth enamel are used to estimate the fraction of diet derived from C 3 or C 4 resources in these hominin taxa. The earliest hominin species in the Turkana Basin, Australopithecus anamensis , derived nearly all of its diet from C 3 resources. Subsequently, by ca . 3.3 Ma, the later Kenyanthropus platyops had a very wide dietary range—from virtually a purely C 3 resource-based diet to one dominated by C 4 resources. By ca . 2 Ma, hominins in the Turkana Basin had split into two distinct groups: specimens attributable to the genus Homo provide evidence for a diet with a ca . 65/35 ratio of C 3 - to C 4 -based resources, whereas P. boisei had a higher fraction of C 4 -based diet ( ca . 25/75 ratio). Homo sp. increased the fraction of C 4 -based resources in the diet through ca . 1.5 Ma, whereas P. boisei maintained its high dependency on C 4 -derived resources.
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
A shift towards a strong C4 dietary signature occurred in Homo with the appearance of early African H. erectus at or before 1.7 Ma, rather than in the earlier species H. habilis and H. rudolfensis, whose modal carbon stable isotope signal is similar to that of Au. afarensis and Au. africanus, suggesting a mixed C3/C4 diet.
“a shift towards a strong C4 dietary signature occurred in Homo with the appearance of early African H. erectus (≤ 1.7 Ma), rather than in the earlier species H. habilis and H. rudolfensis, whose modal carbon stable isotope signal is similar to that of Au. afarensis and Au.africanus, suggesting a mixed C3/C4 diet 19”
From The evolutionary history of the human face (2019) · cites this paper as [19]
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Cites
Multimodel Inference: Understanding AIC and BIC in Model Selection
Burnham, K. P., & Anderson, D. R. (2004) · Sociological Methods & Research · doi:10.1177/0049124104268644 · Cited by 11,648 · see citing works
Regression and time series model selection in small samples
HURVICH, C. M., & TSAI, C.-L. (1989) · Biometrika · doi:10.1093/biomet/76.2.297 · Cited by 6,586 · see citing works
Influence of diet on the distribution of nitrogen isotopes in animals
DeNiro, M. J., & Epstein, S. (1981) · Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta · doi:10.1016/0016-7037(81)90244-1 · Cited by 6,099 · see citing works
Influence of diet on the distribution of carbon isotopes in animals
DeNiro, M. J., & Epstein, S. (1978) · Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta · doi:10.1016/0016-7037(78)90199-0 · Cited by 4,868 · see citing works
Carbon isotope fractionation in plants
O'Leary, M. H. (1981) · Phytochemistry · doi:10.1016/0031-9422(81)85134-5 · Cited by 2,225 · see citing works
Global vegetation change through the Miocene/Pliocene boundary
Cerling, T. E., Harris, J. M., MacFadden, B. J., Leakey, M. G., Quade, J., Eisenmann, V., & Ehleringer, J. R. (1997) · Nature · doi:10.1038/38229 · Cited by 2,149 · see citing works
Self-citationTRENDS '90: A compendium of data on global change
Sepanski, R. J., Boden, T. A., Kanciruk, P., & Farrell, M. P. (1990) · doi:10.2172/6448374 · Cited by 1,586 · see citing works
THE ISOTOPIC COMPOSITION OF REDUCED ORGANIC CARBON
Deines, P. (1980) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-444-41780-0.50015-8 · Cited by 1,362 · see citing works
White, F. (1983) · Natural Resources Research · Cited by 1,275 · see citing works
Cerling, T. E., & Harris, J. (1999) · Oecologia · doi:10.1007/s004420050868 · Cited by 1,062 · see citing works
Self-citationSchoeninger, M. J., DeNiro, M. J., & Tauber, H. (1983) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.6344217 · Cited by 784 · see citing works
A 1000-year high precision record of δ13C in atmospheric CO2
Francey, R. J., Allison, C. E., Etheridge, D. M., Trudinger, C. M., Enting, I. G., Leuenberger, M., Langenfelds, R. L., Michel, E., & Steele, L. (1999) · Tellus B · doi:10.3402/tellusb.v51i2.16269 · Cited by 707 · see citing works
Effect of Phytoplankton Cell Geometry on Carbon Isotopic Fractionation
Popp, B. N., Laws, E. A., Bidigare, R. R., Dore, J. E., Hanson, K. L., & Wakeham, S. G. (1998) · Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta · doi:10.1016/s0016-7037(97)00333-5 · Cited by 698 · see citing works
Woody cover and hominin environments in the past 6 million years
Cerling, T. E., Wynn, J. G., Andanje, S. A., Bird, M. I., Korir, D. K., Levin, N. E., Mace, W., Macharia, A. N., Quade, J., & Remien, C. H. (2011) · Nature · doi:10.1038/nature10306 · Cited by 638 · see citing works
Self-citationCarbon isotope fractionation between diet, breath CO2, and bioapatite in different mammals
Passey, B. H., Robinson, T. F., Ayliffe, L. K., et al. (2005) · Journal of Archaeological Science · doi:10.1016/j.jas.2005.03.015 · Cited by 581 · see citing works
Carbon isotope analysis of fossil bone apatite
Thorp, J. L., & van der Merwe, N. J. (1987) · South African Journal of Science · Cited by 476 · see citing works
A stable isotope aridity index for terrestrial environments
Levin, N. E., Cerling, T. E., Passey, B. H., et al. (2006) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.0604719103 · Cited by 466 · see citing works
Self-citationPassey, B. H., Levin, N. E., Cerling, T. E., Brown, F. H., & Eiler, J. M. (2010) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.1001824107 · Cited by 449 · see citing works
Self-citationNew hominin genus from eastern Africa shows diverse middle Pliocene lineages
Leakey, M. G., Spoor, F., Brown, F. H., Gathogo, P. N., Kiarie, C., Leakey, L., & McDougall, I. (2001) · Nature · doi:10.1038/35068500 · Cited by 409 · see citing works
Self-citationTooth enamel mineralization in ungulates: implications for recovering a primary isotopic time-series
Passey, B. H., & Cerling, T. E. (2002) · Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta · doi:10.1016/s0016-7037(02)00933-x · Cited by 344 · see citing works
Self-citationStable isotope ecology in the Ituri Forest
Cerling, T. E., Hart, J. A., & Hart, T. B. (2003) · Oecologia · doi:10.1007/s00442-003-1375-4 · Cited by 339 · see citing works
Self-citation2.5-Myr Australopithecus boisei from west of Lake Turkana, Kenya
Walker, A., Leakey, R. E. F., Harris, J. M., & Brown, F. (1986) · Nature · doi:10.1038/322517a0 · Cited by 331 · see citing works
Self-citationIsotopic Evidence for the Diet of an Early Hominid, Australopithecus africanus
Sponheimer, M., & Lee‐Thorp, J. A. (1999) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.283.5400.368 · Cited by 329 · see citing works
Diet of Paranthropus boisei in the early Pleistocene of East Africa
Cerling, T. E., Mbua, E. N., Kirera, F. M., Manthi, F. K., Grine, F. E., Leakey, M. G., Sponheimer, M., & Uno, K. T. (2011) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.1104627108 · Cited by 316 · see citing works
Self-citation(1990) · doi:10.1093/oso/9780198573999.001.0001 · Cited by 297 · see citing works
Isotopic evidence of early hominin diets
Sponheimer, M., Alemseged, Z., Cerling, T. E., Grine, F. E., Kimbel, W. H., Leakey, M. G., Lee‐Thorp, J. A., Manthi, F. K., Reed, K. E., Wood, B. A., et al. (2013) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.1222579110 · Cited by 291 · see citing works
Self-citation“Lucy” redux: A review of research on Australopithecus afarensis
Kimbel, W. H., & Delezene, L. K. (2009) · American Journal of Physical Anthropology · doi:10.1002/ajpa.21183 · Cited by 251 · see citing works
Macrovertebrate Paleontology and the Pliocene Habitat of Ardipithecus ramidus
White, T. D., Ambrose, S. H., Suwa, G., Su, D. F., Degusta, D., Bernor, R. L., Boisserie, J., Brunet, M., Delson, E., Frost, S. R., et al. (2009) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1175822 · Cited by 249 · see citing works
Diet of Australopithecus robustus at Swartkrans from stable carbon isotopic analysis
Lee‐Thorp, J. A., van der Merwe, N. J., & Brain, C. K. (1994) · Journal of Human Evolution · doi:10.1006/jhev.1994.1050 · Cited by 242 · see citing works
Strontium isotope evidence for landscape use by early hominins
Copeland, S. R., Sponheimer, M., de Ruiter, D. J., Lee‐Thorp, J. A., Codron, D., le Roux, P., Grimes, V., & Richards, M. P. (2011) · Nature · doi:10.1038/nature10149 · Cited by 218 · see citing works
Sponheimer, M., Lee‐Thorp, J. A., de Ruiter, D. J., Codron, D., Codron, J., Baugh, A. T., & Thackeray, F. (2005) · Journal of Human Evolution · doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2004.11.008 · Cited by 205 · see citing works
Uno, K. T., Cerling, T. E., Harris, J., et al. (2011) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.1018435108 · Cited by 202 · see citing works
Self-citationNew fossils from Koobi Fora in northern Kenya confirm taxonomic diversity in early Homo
Leakey, M. G., Spoor, F., Dean, C., Feibel, C. S., Antón, S. C., Kiarie, C., & Leakey, L. (2012) · Nature · doi:10.1038/nature11322 · Cited by 195 · see citing works
Self-citationDietary adaptations of extant and Neogene African suids
Harris, J., & Cerling, T. E. (2002) · Journal of Zoology · doi:10.1017/s0952836902000067 · Cited by 191 · see citing works
Self-citationLevin, N. E., Brown, F. H., Behrensmeyer, A. K., Bobe, R. L., & Cerling, T. E. (2011) · Palaeogeography Palaeoclimatology Palaeoecology · doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2011.04.026 · Cited by 186 · see citing works
Self-citationMcDougall, I., Brown, F. H., Vasconcelos, P. M., Cohen, B. E., Thiede, D. S., & Buchanan, M. J. (2012) · Journal of the Geological Society · doi:10.1144/0016-76492010-188 · Cited by 184 · see citing works
Self-citationVariations in enamel thickness and structure in East African hominids
Beynon, A. D., & Wood, B. A. (1986) · American Journal of Physical Anthropology · doi:10.1002/ajpa.1330700205 · Cited by 173 · see citing works
Self-citationThe carbon isotope ecology and diet of Australopithecus africanus at Sterkfontein, South Africa
van der Merwe, N. J., Thackeray, F., Lee‐Thorp, J. A., & Luyt, J. (2003) · Journal of Human Evolution · doi:10.1016/s0047-2484(03)00050-2 · Cited by 170 · see citing works
Precise 40 Ar/ 39 Ar geochronology for the upper Koobi Fora Formation, Turkana Basin, northern Kenya
McDougall, I., & Brown, F. H. (2005) · Journal of the Geological Society · doi:10.1144/0016-764904-166 · Cited by 169 · see citing works
Self-citationDo “savanna” chimpanzees consume C4 resources?
Sponheimer, M., Loudon, J. E., Codron, D., Howells, M. E., Pruetz, J. D., Codron, J., DERUITER, D., & Lee‐Thorp, J. A. (2006) · Journal of Human Evolution · doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2006.02.002 · Cited by 162 · see citing works
Koobi fora research project, volume 4, hominid cranial remains
Howells, W. W. (1993) · International Journal of Primatology · doi:10.1007/bf02192196 · Cited by 159 · see citing works
Paleosols, stable carbon isotopes, and paleoenvironmental interpretation of Kanapoi, Northern Kenya
Wynn, J. G. (2000) · Journal of Human Evolution · doi:10.1006/jhev.2000.0431 · Cited by 156 · see citing works
Evidence for an Advanced Plio-Pleistocene Hominid from East Rudolf, Kenya
Leakey, R. E. F. (1973) · Nature · doi:10.1038/242447a0 · Cited by 150 · see citing works
Self-citationDental microwear and stable isotopes inform the paleoecology of extinct hominins
Grine, F. E., Sponheimer, M., Ungar, P. S., Lee‐Thorp, J. A., & Teaford, M. F. (2012) · American Journal of Physical Anthropology · doi:10.1002/ajpa.22086 · Cited by 150 · see citing works
Self-citationδ13 Values of C4 Types in Grasses
Hattersley, P. (1982) · Australian Journal of Plant Physiology · doi:10.1071/pp9820139 · Cited by 150 · see citing works
Geochronology of the pre-KBS Tuff sequence, Omo Group, Turkana Basin
McDougall, I., & Brown, F. H. (2008) · Journal of the Geological Society · doi:10.1144/0016-76492006-170 · Cited by 132 · see citing works
Self-citationWood, B. A., & Leakey, M. G. (2011) · Evolutionary Anthropology Issues News and Reviews · doi:10.1002/evan.20335 · Cited by 130 · see citing works
Self-citationCodron, D., Lee‐Thorp, J. A., Sponheimer, M., de Ruiter, D. J., & Codron, J. (2005) · American Journal of Physical Anthropology · doi:10.1002/ajpa.20253 · Cited by 129 · see citing works
Marine and Terrestrial Protein in Prehistoric Diets on the British Columbia Coast
Chisholm, B. S., Nelson, D. E., & Schwarcz, H. P. (1983) · Current Anthropology · doi:10.1086/203018 · Cited by 118 · see citing works
Evidence for dietary change but not landscape use in South African early hominins
Balter, V., Braga, J., Télouk, P., & Thackeray, F. (2012) · Nature · doi:10.1038/nature11349 · Cited by 116 · see citing works
Diet of Australopithecus afarensis from the Pliocene Hadar Formation, Ethiopia
Wynn, J. G., Sponheimer, M., Kimbel, W. H., Alemseged, Z., Reed, K. E., Bedaso, Z. K., & Wilson, J. N. (2013) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.1222559110 · Cited by 110 · see citing works
Paleochemistry of plio-pleistocene lake Turkana, Kenya
Cerling, T. E. (1979) · Palaeogeography Palaeoclimatology Palaeoecology · doi:10.1016/0031-0182(79)90105-6 · Cited by 105 · see citing works
Self-citationNew hominid fossils from the Koobi Fora formation in Northern Kenya
Leakey, R. E. F. (1976) · Nature · doi:10.1038/261574a0 · Cited by 100 · see citing works
Self-citationSequence of tuffs between the KBS Tuff and the Chari Tuff in the Turkana Basin, Kenya and Ethiopia
Brown, F. H., Haileab, B., & McDougall, I. (2005) · Journal of the Geological Society · doi:10.1144/0016-764904-165 · Cited by 99 · see citing works
Self-citationLevin, N. E., Simpson, S. W., Quade, J., et al. (2008) · Geological Society of America eBooks · doi:10.1130/2008.2446(10 · Cited by 95 · see citing works
First occurrence of early Homo in the Nachukui Formation (West Turkana, Kenya) at 2.3-2.4Myr
Prat, S., Brugal, J., Tiercelin, J., Barrat, J., Bohn, M., Delagnes, A., Harmand, S., Kimeu, K., Kibunjia, M., Texier, P.-J., et al. (2005) · Journal of Human Evolution · doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2005.03.009 · Cited by 93 · see citing works
Self-citationHaig, D. (1999) · American Journal of Primatology · doi:10.1002/(sici)1098-2345(199912)49:4 · Cited by 84 · see citing works
What Insights Can Baboon Feeding Ecology Provide for Early Hominin Niche Differentiation?
Codron, D., Lee‐Thorp, J. A., Sponheimer, M., et al. (2008) · International Journal of Primatology · doi:10.1007/s10764-008-9261-x · Cited by 83 · see citing works
Brown, F. H., Sarna‐Wojcicki, A. M., Meyer, C. E., et al. (1992) · Quaternary International · doi:10.1016/1040-6182(92)90010-y · Cited by 81 · see citing works
Self-citationDiet of Theropithecus from 4 to 1 Ma in Kenya
Cerling, T. E., Chritz, K. L., Jablonski, N. G., Leakey, M. G., & Manthi, F. K. (2013) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.1222571110 · Cited by 80 · see citing works
Self-citationTemperature dependence of oxygen isotope acid fractionation for modern and fossil tooth enamels
Passey, B. H., Cerling, T. E., & Levin, N. E. (2007) · Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry · doi:10.1002/rcm.3149 · Cited by 78 · see citing works
Self-citation12.2. Isotope Paleoecology of the Nawata and Nachukui Formations at Lothagam, Turkana Basin, Kenya
Cerling, T. E., Harris, J., & Leakey, M. G. (2003) · Columbia University Press eBooks · doi:10.7312/leak11870-024 · Cited by 72 · see citing works
Self-citationIsotopic ecology and dietary profiles of Liberian chimpanzees
Smith, C. C., Morgan, M. E., & Pilbeam, D. R. (2009) · Journal of Human Evolution · doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2009.08.001 · Cited by 70 · see citing works
Monthly Atmospheric 13C/12C Isotopic Ratios for 10 SIO Stations
Keeling, R. F., Bollenbacher, A., & Whorf, T. P. (2005) · Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center (CDIAC) Datasets · doi:10.3334/cdiac/atg.025 · Cited by 63 · see citing works
Reconstructing the Diet of an Extinct Hominin Taxon: The Role of Extant Primate Models
Wood, B. A., & Schroer, K. (2012) · International Journal of Primatology · doi:10.1007/s10764-012-9602-7 · Cited by 52 · see citing works
Self-citationEXTRACTING TIME FROM PHYLOGENIES: POSITIVE INTERPLAY BETWEEN FOSSIL AND GENETIC DATA
Conroy, C. J., & van Tuinen, M. (2003) · Journal of Mammalogy · doi:10.1644/1545-1542(2003)084 · Cited by 47 · see citing works
A hominid mandible from East Rudolf, Kenya
Leakey, R. E. F., & Wood, B. (1974) · American Journal of Physical Anthropology · doi:10.1002/ajpa.1330410207 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
Self-citation
Flagged first, then by citations
Research works printed but not linked: 3
- [14]Cerling TE, Harris JM, Passey BH. Dietary preferences of East African Bovidae based on stable isotope analysis. J Mammal. 2003;84:456–471. [Google Scholar]
- [32]Sponheimer M, et al. Diets of southern African bovidae: The stable isotope evidence. J Mammal. 2003;84:471–479. [Google Scholar]
- [55]Feibel CS, Harris JM, Brown FH. Paleoenvironmental context for the Late Neogene of the Turkana Basin. In: Harris JM, editor. Koobi Fora Research Project. Vol 3. Oxford: Clarendon; 1991. pp. 321–370. [Google Scholar]
Cited by
Sorted by citations
The evolutionary history of the human face
Lacruz, R. S., Stringer, C. B., Kimbel, W. H., Wood, B., Harvati, K., O’Higgins, P., Bromage, T. G., & Arsuaga, J.-L. (2019) · Nature Ecology & Evolution · doi:10.1038/s41559-019-0865-7 · Cited by 108 · see citing works
Self-citationBigger Brains Led to Bigger Bodies?: The Correlated Evolution of Human Brain and Body Size
Grabowski, M. (2016) · Current Anthropology · doi:10.1086/685655 · Cited by 63 · see citing works
- Authors
- Cerling, T. E., Manthi, F. K., Mbua, E. N., Leakey, L. N., Leakey, M. G., Leakey, R. E., Brown, F. H., Grine, F. E., Hart, J. A., Kaleme, P., Roche, H., Uno, K. T., & Wood, B. A.
- Affiliations
- University of Utah (US)
- National Museums of Kenya (KE)
- Stony Brook University (US)
- Lukuru Foundation (CD)
- Frankfurt Zoological Society (DE)
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
- George Washington University (US)
- ORCID
- Venue
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
- Publisher
- National Academy of Sciences
- Published
- 2013-06-03
- Volume
- 110
- Issue
- 26
- Pages
- 10501-10506
- ISSN
- 0027-8424 (ISSN-L)
- 1091-6490
- PMC
- PMC3696807
- OpenAlex
- W2050743603
- Cited by
- 235
- References
- 67
- Citations by year
- 2026: 15 · 2025: 23 · 2024: 13 · 2023: 17 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 23 · 2020: 17 · 2019: 20 · 2018: 10 · 2017: 12 · 2016: 27 · 2015: 22 · 2014: 15 · 2013: 13
- FWCI
- 119.89
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Update notices
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- HAL (submittedVersion)
- HAL (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Anthropology › Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Paleontology › Archaeology and ancient environmental studies
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Isotope Analysis in Ecology
- Keywords
- hominin diet, stable carbon isotopes, dental enamel, Turkana Basin, Australopithecus anamensis, Paranthropus boisei, early Homo, hominin evolution, fossil hominins
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Carbon Isotopes, Dental Enamel, Diet, Fossils, Humans, Kenya, Hominidae, History, Ancient
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
