Neanderthals
in Northern Spain Had Knowledge of Plants' Healing Qualities, Study Reveals
ScienceDaily
(July 17, 2012) — An international team of researchers, led by the Universitat
Autònoma de Barcelona and the University of York, has provided the first
molecular evidence that Neanderthals not only ate a range of cooked plant
foods, but also understood its nutritional and medicinal qualities.
Until
recently Neanderthals, who disappeared between 30,000 and 24,000 years ago,
were thought to be predominantly meat-eaters. However, evidence of dietary
breadth is growing as more sophisticated analyses are undertaken.
Researchers
from Spain, the UK and Australia combined pyrolysis gas-chromatography-mass
spectrometry with morphological analysis of plant microfossils to identify
material trapped in dental calculus (calcified dental plaque) from five
Neanderthals from the north Spanish site of El Sidrón.
Their
results, published in Naturwissenschaften - The Science of Nature this week,
provide another twist to the story -- the first molecular evidence for
medicinal plants being used by a Neanderthal individual.
The
researchers say the starch granules and carbohydrate markers in the samples,
plus evidence for plant compounds such as azulenes and coumarins, as well as
possible evidence for nuts, grasses and even green vegetables, argue for a
broader use of ingested plants than is often suggested by stable isotope
analysis.
Lead author
Karen Hardy, a Catalan Institute of Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA)
Research Professor at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) and an
Honorary Research Associate at the University of York, UK, said: "The
varied use of plants we identified suggests that the Neanderthal occupants of
El Sidrón had a sophisticated knowledge of their natural surroundings which
included the ability to select and use certain plants for their nutritional
value and for self-medication. While meat was clearly important, our research points
to an even more complex diet than has previously been supposed."
Earlier
research by members of this team had shown that the Neanderthals in El Sidrón
had the bitter taste perception gene. Now trapped within dental calculus
researchers found molecular evidence that one individual had eaten bitter
tasting plants. Learn more about Cro-Magnons
Dr Stephen
Buckley, a Research Fellow at the University of York's BioArCh research
facility, said: "The evidence indicating this individual was eating
bitter-tasting plants such as yarrow and camomile with little nutritional value
is surprising. We know that Neanderthals would find these plants bitter, so it
is likely these plants must have been selected for reasons other than
taste."
Ten samples
of dental calculus from five Neanderthals were selected for this study. The
researchers used thermal desorption and pyrolysis gas-chromatography-mass
spectrometry to identify both free/unbound and bound/polymeric organic
components in the dental calculus. By using this method in conjunction with the
extraction and analysis of plant microfossils, they found chemical evidence
consistent with wood-fire smoke, a range of cooked starchy foods, two plants
known today for their medicinal qualities, and bitumen or oil shale trapped in
the dental calculus.
Professor
Matthew Collins, who heads the BioArCh research facility at York, said:
"Using mass spectrometry, we were able to identify the building blocks of
carbohydrates in the calculus of two adults, one individual in particular
having apparently eaten several different carbohydrate-rich foods. Combined
with the microscopic analysis it also demonstrates how dental calculus can
provide a rich source of information."
The
researchers say evidence for cooked carbohydrates is confirmed by both the
cracked/roasted starch granules observed microscopically and the molecular
evidence for cooking and exposure to wood smoke or smoked food in the form of a
range of chemical markers including methyl esters, phenols, and polynuclear
aromatic hydrocarbons found in dental calculus.
Professor
Les Copeland from the Faculty of Agriculture and Environment, University of
Sydney, Australia, said: "Our research confirms the varied and selective
use of plants by Neanderthals."
The study
also provides evidence that the starch granules reported from El Sidrón
represent the oldest granules ever to be confirmed using a biochemical test,
while ancient bacteria found embedded in the calculus offers the potential for
future studies in oral health.
The
archaeological cave site of El Sidrón, located in the Asturias region of
northern Spain, contains the best collection of Neanderthal remains found in
the Iberian Peninsula and one of the most important active sites in the world.
Discovered in 1994, it contains around 2,000 skeletal remains of at least 13
individuals dating back around 47,300 to 50,600 years.
Antonio
Rosas, of the Museum of Natural History in Madrid -- CSIC (Spanish National
Research Council), said: "El Sidrón has allowed us to banish many of the
preconceptions we had of Neanderthals. Thanks to previous studies, we know that
they looked after the sick, buried their dead and decorated their bodies. Now
another dimension has been added relating to their diet and self-medication."
Fieldwork at
El Sidrón, conducted by researchers from the University of Oviedo, is funded by
the Department of Culture, Principality of Asturias. The dental calculus
samples used in this study were provided by the laboratory leading the study of
the human remains discovered in El Sidrón, which is located at the Museum of
Natural History in Madrid -- CSIC.
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