title: To meat or not to meat? New perspectives on Neanderthal ecology.
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.
authors.affiliation: Earth Sciences, University of New England, Armidale, NSW 2351, Australia.
authors.forename: Luca
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Fiorenza
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Benazzi
authors.forename: Amanda G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Henry
authors.forename: Domingo C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Salazar-García
authors.forename: Ruth
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Blasco
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Picin
authors.forename: Stephen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wroe
authors.forename: Ottmar
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Kullmer
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003728:Dental Calculus / Q000473:pathology; D005060:Europe; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005580:Fossils; D007554:Isotopes / Q000032:analysis; D008460:Meat; D059125:Neanderthals / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology; D010164:Paleopathology; D013672:Technology; D057085:Tooth Wear / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D007554:Isotopes
keywords: dental calculus; paleopathology; stable isotopes; technology; tooth wear; zooarchaeology