Stable carbon isotope reconstructions of diet and paleoenvironment from the late Middle Pleistocene Snake Cave in Northeastern Thailand
Stable carbon isotope reconstructions of diet and paleoenvironment from the late Middle Pleistocene Snake Cave in Northeastern Thailand
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DOI：
10.1007/s00114-009-0642-6
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发表时间：
2010-02
影响因子：
--
通讯作者：
D. Pushkina;H. Bocherens;Y. Chaimanee;J. Jaeger
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
D. Pushkina;H. Bocherens;Y. Chaimanee;J. Jaeger
泰国位于热带的地理位置和几乎完整的、相对不间断的森林覆盖使其对古饮食和古气候研究具有价值。我们介绍了泰国东北部的第一次饮食和环境重建，使用了来自中更新世晚期的哺乳动物牙釉质中稳定的同位素丰度，这反映了C4植物的出现(超过70%)远远高于现代(13%)。牛和颈鹿似乎几乎完全以C4植物为食。食肉动物食用C3(猪油)和C4(牛、鹿)消费者的混合物。随着时间的推移，犀牛和猩猩似乎分别保持了对森林或开放的C3环境的偏好。现代东南亚哺乳动物的骨生物磷灰石、角和毛发的13C/12C几乎完全显示出C3植被优势。在被分析的现代物种中，C4的消耗是罕见的，它可能与人为影响有关，例如摄入国内作物或牲畜。在欧亚生态系统南部的C4植被分布中出现了有趣的含义，表明西藏以南的东南亚可能是发生在7 Ma左右的全球C4植被传播的一部分。然而，生态系统中的C4百分比在地理上是不同的。尽管由于二氧化碳增加等因素，现代人类转向C3栖息地，但我们认为人类学的影响可能是现存物种栖息地和饮食变化的原因。随着时间的推移，牛的食物和栖息地发生了最显著的变化，从以C4为主的开阔栖息地转变为以C3为主的栖息地，这表明茂密的森林下层。
Thailand’s geographical location in the tropics and almost complete, relatively uninterrupted forest cover makes it valuable for paleodiet and paleoclimate research. We present the first dietary and environmental reconstructions in Northeastern Thailand, using stable isotope abundances in mammalian tooth enamel from the late Middle Pleistocene locality, Tham Wiman Nakin (Snake Cave), which reflect a much higher (over 70%) than modern (13%) occurrence of C4 plants. Bovids and cervids appear to have had almost entirely a C4 plant diet. Carnivores consumed a mixture of C3 (suids) and C4 (bovids, cervids) consumers. Rhinoceroses and orangutan appear to have maintained their preference through time for forested or open C3 environment, respectively.13C/12C from bone bioapatite, horn and hair of modern Southeast Asian mammals almost exclusively demonstrate C3 vegetation dominance. C4 consumption is rare in analysed modern species and it could be related to anthropogenic influences such as ingestion of domestic crops or livestock. Interesting implications emerge in the C4 vegetation distribution in southern Eurasian ecosystems, indicating that Southeast Asia, south of the Tibet, could be part of the global C4 vegetation spread, which occurred around 7 Ma. However, the C4 percentage in ecosystems varied geographically. Despite modern reversal towards C3 habitats due to factors such as increasing CO2, we think that anthropological influences may be responsible for habitat and dietary changes in extant species. Bovids demonstrate the most significant shift in diet and habitat through time, from C4-dominated open habitats to C3-dominated habitats indicative of dense forest understory.