title: The diet of the first Europeans from Atapuerca.
abstract: Hominin dietary specialization is crucial to understanding the evolutionary changes of craniofacial biomechanics and the interaction of food processing methods' effects on teeth. However, the diet-related dental wear processes of the earliest European hominins remain unknown because most of the academic attention has focused on Neandertals. Non-occlusal dental microwear provides direct evidence of the effect of chewed food particles on tooth enamel surfaces and reflects dietary signals over time. Here, we report for the first time the direct effect of dietary abrasiveness as evidenced by the buccal microwear patterns on the teeth of the Sima del Elefante-TE9 and Gran Dolina-TD6 Atapuerca hominins (1.2-0.8 million years ago - Myr) as compared with other Lower and Middle Pleistocene populations. A unique buccal microwear pattern that is found in Homo antecessor (0.96-0.8 Myr), a well-known cannibal species, indicates dietary practices that are consistent with the consumption of hard and brittle foods. Our findings confirm that the oldest European inhabitants ingested more mechanically-demanding diets than later populations because they were confronted with harsh, fluctuating environmental conditions. Furthermore, the influence of grit-laden food suggests that a high-quality meat diet from butchering processes could have fueled evolutionary changes in brain size.
authors.affiliation: Departament de Biologia Evolutiva, Ecologia i Ciencies Ambientals, Secció Zoologia i Antropologia Biològica, Universitat de Barcelona. Av. Diagonal, 643, 08028 Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Alejandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pérez-Pérez
authors.affiliation: Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES), Zona Educacional 4 (Edifici W3), Campus Sescelades, 43007 Tarragona, Spain.|Àrea de Prehistòria, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Av. Catalunya, 35, 43002 Tarragona, Spain.
authors.forename: Marina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lozano
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Biotecnología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Alicante, Ap. C. 99, 03080 Alicante, Spain.
authors.forename: Alejandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Romero
authors.affiliation: Departament de Biologia Evolutiva, Ecologia i Ciencies Ambientals, Secció Zoologia i Antropologia Biològica, Universitat de Barcelona. Av. Diagonal, 643, 08028 Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Laura M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Martínez
authors.affiliation: Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, Department of Anthropology, The George Washington University, 800 22nd Street NW, Ste 6000, Washington DC 20052, USA.
authors.forename: Jordi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Galbany
authors.affiliation: Departament de Biologia Evolutiva, Ecologia i Ciencies Ambientals, Secció Zoologia i Antropologia Biològica, Universitat de Barcelona. Av. Diagonal, 643, 08028 Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Beatriz
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Pinilla
authors.affiliation: Departament de Biologia Evolutiva, Ecologia i Ciencies Ambientals, Secció Zoologia i Antropologia Biològica, Universitat de Barcelona. Av. Diagonal, 643, 08028 Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Ferran
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Estebaranz-Sánchez
authors.affiliation: Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre Evolución Humana (CENIEH), Paseo Sierra de Atapuerca, 09002 Burgos, Spain.|UCL Anthropology, 14 Taviton Street, London, WC1H 0BW, UK.
authors.forename: José María
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Bermúdez de Castro
authors.affiliation: Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES), Zona Educacional 4 (Edifici W3), Campus Sescelades, 43007 Tarragona, Spain.|Centro Mixto UCM-ISCIII de Evolución y Comportamiento Humanos, Universidad Complutense de Madrid-Instituto de Salud Carlos III, 28029 Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Eudald
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Carbonell
authors.affiliation: Centro Mixto UCM-ISCIII de Evolución y Comportamiento Humanos, Universidad Complutense de Madrid-Instituto de Salud Carlos III, 28029 Madrid, Spain.|Departamento de Paleontología, Facultad de Ciencias Geológicas, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Juan Luís
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Arsuaga
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D002190:Cannibalism / Q000266:history*; D003743:Dental Enamel / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D004032:Diet / Q000266:history*; D005580:Fossils / Q000266:history / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D049690:History, Ancient; D015186:Hominidae / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology*; D008322:Mammals; D010944:Plants; D013030:Spain; D014070:Tooth / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology*; D014426:Turtles