To Meat or Not to Meat? New Perspectives on Neanderthal Ecology

Title
To Meat or Not to Meat? New Perspectives on Neanderthal Ecology
Publication Date
2015
Author(s)
Fiorenza, Luca
Benazzi, Stefano
Henry, Amanda G
Salazar-Garcia, Domingo C
Blasco, Ruth
Picin, Andrea
Wroe, Stephen
( author )
OrcID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6365-5915
Email: swroe@une.edu.au
UNE Id une-id:swroe
Kullmer, Ottmar
Type of document
Journal Article
Language
en
Entity Type
Publication
Publisher
John Wiley & Sons, Inc
Place of publication
United States of America
DOI
10.1002/ajpa.22659
UNE publication id
une:17028
Abstract
Neanderthals have been commonly depicted as top predators who met their nutritional needs by focusing entirely on meat. This information mostly derives from faunal assemblage analyses and stable isotope studies: methods that tend to underestimate plant consumption and overestimate the intake of animal proteins. Several studies in fact demonstrate that there is a physiological limit to the amount of animal proteins that can be consumed: exceeding these values causes protein toxicity that can be particularly dangerous to pregnant women and newborns. Consequently, to avoid food poisoning from meat-based diets, Neanderthals must have incorporated alternative food sources in their daily diets, including plant materials as well.
Link
Citation
Yearbook of Physical Anthropology, 156(Supplement S59), p. 43-71
ISSN
0096-848X
Start page
43
End page
71

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