Neanderthal medics? Evidence for food, cooking, and medicinal plants entrapped in dental calculus
Neanderthal medics? Evidence for food, cooking, and medicinal plants entrapped in dental calculus
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DOI：
10.1007/s00114-012-0942-0
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发表时间：
2012-08-01
影响因子：
--
通讯作者：
Rosas, Antonio
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Hardy, Karen;Buckley, Stephen;Rosas, Antonio
尼安德特人在3万到2.4万年前消失了。直到最近，人们还认为尼安德特人主要是肉食者；然而，越来越多的证据表明，他们的饮食也包括植物。我们提出了一项研究的结果，该研究将连续热解吸-气相色谱-质谱法（TD-GC-MS）和热解-气相色谱-质谱法（pygc - ms）与植物微化石的形态分析相结合，以鉴定来自西班牙北部El Sidrn遗址的5名尼安德特人牙石中的物质。我们的研究结果为吸入木柴烟雾和沥青或油页岩以及摄入一系列煮熟的植物性食物提供了第一个分子证据。我们还提供了尼安德特人使用药用植物的第一个证据。我们发现的对植物的不同使用表明，居住在锡德恩的尼安德特人对自然环境有着复杂的了解，其中包括选择和使用某些植物的能力。
Neanderthals disappeared sometime between 30,000 and 24,000 years ago. Until recently, Neanderthals were understood to have been predominantly meat-eaters; however, a growing body of evidence suggests their diet also included plants. We present the results of a study, in which sequential thermal desorption-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (TD-GC-MS) and pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (Py-GC-MS) were combined with morphological analysis of plant microfossils, to identify material entrapped in dental calculus from five Neanderthal individuals from the north Spanish site of El Sidrn. Our results provide the first molecular evidence for inhalation of wood-fire smoke and bitumen or oil shale and ingestion of a range of cooked plant foods. We also offer the first evidence for the use of medicinal plants by a Neanderthal individual. The varied use of plants that we have identified suggests that the Neanderthal occupants of El Sidrn had a sophisticated knowledge of their natural surroundings which included the ability to select and use certain plants.