title: Diet and environment 1.2 million years ago revealed through analysis of dental calculus from Europe's oldest hominin at Sima del Elefante, Spain.
abstract: Sima del Elefante, Atapuerca, Spain contains one of the earliest hominin fragments yet known in Europe, dating to 1.2 Ma. Dental calculus from a hominin molar was removed, degraded and analysed to recover entrapped remains. Evidence for plant use at this time is very limited and this study has revealed the earliest direct evidence for foods consumed in the genus Homo. This comprises starchy carbohydrates from two plants, including a species of grass from the Triticeae or Bromideae tribe, meat and plant fibres. All food was eaten raw, and there is no evidence for processing of the starch granules which are intact and undamaged. Additional biographical detail includes fragments of non-edible wood found adjacent to an interproximal groove suggesting oral hygiene activities, while plant fibres may be linked to raw material processing. Environmental evidence comprises spores, insect fragments and conifer pollen grains which are consistent with a forested environment.
authors.affiliation: ICREA, Pg. Lluís Companys 23, 08010, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. khardy@icrea.cat.|Departament de Prehistòria, Facultat de Filosofia i Lletres, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, 08193, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. khardy@icrea.cat.
authors.forename: Karen
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1127-2397
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hardy
authors.affiliation: Department of Archaeology, University of York, The King's Manor, York, UK.
authors.forename: Anita
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Radini
authors.affiliation: Department of Archaeology, University of York, The King's Manor, York, UK.
authors.forename: Stephen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Buckley
authors.affiliation: Centro Nacional de Investigacion sobre la Evolución Humana, CENIEH, Paseo Sierra de Atapuerca, 3, 09002, Burgos, Spain.
authors.forename: Ruth
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Blasco
authors.affiliation: School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
authors.forename: Les
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Copeland
authors.affiliation: ICREA, Pg. Lluís Companys 23, 08010, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.|IPHES, Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social, Campus Sescelades URV, edifici W3, 43007, Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain.|URV, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Area de Prehistoria, Avinguda Catalunya 35, 43002, Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain.
authors.forename: Francesc
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Burjachs
authors.affiliation: Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, 08193, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
authors.forename: Josep
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Girbal
authors.affiliation: Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, 08193, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
authors.forename: Riker
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Yll
authors.affiliation: IPHES, Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social, Campus Sescelades URV, edifici W3, 43007, Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain.|URV, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Area de Prehistoria, Avinguda Catalunya 35, 43002, Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain.
authors.forename: Eudald
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Carbonell
authors.affiliation: Centro Nacional de Investigacion sobre la Evolución Humana, CENIEH, Paseo Sierra de Atapuerca, 3, 09002, Burgos, Spain.
authors.forename: Jose María
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Bermúdez de Castro
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003728:Dental Calculus / Q000737:chemistry*; D004032:Diet; D004777:Environment; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005580:Fossils; D015186:Hominidae / Q000502:physiology*; D013030:Spain
keywords: Atapuerca; Dental calculus; Diet; Human evolution; Microfossils; Paleoenvironment; Sima del Elefante