Abstract
Our understanding of early human diets is based on reconstructed biomechanics of hominin jaws, bone and teeth isotopic data, tooth wear patterns, lithic, taphonomic and zooarchaeological data, which do not provide information about the relative amounts of different types of foods that contributed most to early human diets. Faecal biomarkers are proving to be a valuable tool in identifying relative proportions of plant and animal tissues in Palaeolithic diets. A limiting factor in the application of the faecal biomarker approach is the striking absence of data related to the occurrence of faecal biomarkers in non-human primate faeces. In this study we explored the nature and proportions of sterols and stanols excreted by our closest living relatives. This investigation reports the first faecal biomarker data for wild chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) and mountain gorilla (Gorilla beringei). Our results suggest that the chemometric analysis of faecal biomarkers is a useful tool for distinguishing between NHP and human faecal matter, and hence, it could provide information for palaeodietary research and early human diets.
Highlights
The emergence of our genus has been often interpreted as a convergence of different anatomical, physiological and social changes attributed mainly to our tendency to eat more meat
There is a substantial amount of information available on the timing of butchery [10,11,12,13,14] and about the evolutionary benefits of eating meat [see for example, 15–17, 7], little is known about the proportions of animal protein intake necessary to influence hominin biology
Our preliminary results show that the chemometric approach is a useful tool in the distinction between NHP and human faecal matter, and it could provide a new source of information for the study of the early human diet
Summary
The emergence of our genus has been often interpreted as a convergence of different anatomical, physiological and social changes attributed mainly to our tendency to eat more meat. There is a substantial amount of information available on the timing of butchery [10,11,12,13,14] and about the evolutionary benefits of eating meat [see for example, 15–17, 7], little is known about the proportions of animal protein intake necessary to influence hominin biology. There is potential confusion among the different interpretations of the role of plants in the crucial period in which the essential features of our physiology were shaped. Interpretations range from the important role of nutrient dense plants, such as nuts and seeds [18], PLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0128931 June 10, 2015
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