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Cited by 290

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 85 of the 85 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

Isotopic evidence of early hominin diets

Open access
Sponheimer, Matt, Alemseged, Zeresenay, Cerling, Thure E., Grine, Frederick E., Kimbel, William H., Leakey, Meave G., Lee-Thorp, Julia A., Manthi, Fredrick Kyalo, Reed, Kaye E., Wood, Bernard A., Wynn, Jonathan G.·2013·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
DOI 10.1073/pnas.1222579110
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Abstract

Carbon isotope studies of early hominins from southern Africa showed that their diets differed markedly from the diets of extant apes. Only recently, however, has a major influx of isotopic data from eastern Africa allowed for broad taxonomic, temporal, and regional comparisons among hominins. Before 4 Ma, hominins had diets that were dominated by C 3 resources and were, in that sense, similar to extant chimpanzees. By about 3.5 Ma, multiple hominin taxa began incorporating 13 C-enriched [C 4 or crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM)] foods in their diets and had highly variable carbon isotope compositions which are atypical for African mammals. By about 2.5 Ma,Paranthropus in eastern Africa diverged toward C 4/CAM specialization and occupied an isotopic niche unknown in catarrhine primates, except in the fossil relations of grass-eating geladas (Theropithecus gelada). At the same time, other taxa (e.g.,Australopithecus africanus) continued to have highly mixed and varied C 3/C 4 diets. Overall, there is a trend toward greater consumption of 13 C-enriched foods in early hominins over time, although this trend varies by region. Hominin carbon isotope ratios also increase with postcanine tooth area and mandibular cross-sectional area, which could indicate that these foods played a role in the evolution of australopith masticatory robusticity. The 13 C-enriched resources that hominins ate remain unknown and must await additional integration of existing paleodietary proxy data and new research on the distribution, abundance, nutrition, and mechanical properties of C 4(and CAM) plants.

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Metadata

Authors
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., & Wynn, J. G.
Venue
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Publisher
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Published
2013-06-03
Volume
110
Issue
26
Pages
10513-10518
ISSN
  • 0027-8424 (ISSN-L)
  • 1091-6490
DOI
10.1073/pnas.1222579110
OpenAlex
W2031814173
Cited by
290
References
85
FWCI
145.30
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
green

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