% pubman genre = article @article{item_3194253, title = {{Zinc isotopes in Late Pleistocene fossil teeth from a Southeast Asian cave setting preserve paleodietary information}}, author = {Bourgon, Nicolas and Jaouen, Klervia and Bacon, Anne-Marie and Jochum, Klaus Peter and Dufour, Elise and Duringer, Philippe and Ponche, Jean-Luc and Joannes-Boyau, Renaud and Boesch, Quentin and Antoine, Pierre-Olivier and Hullot, Manon and Weis, Ulrike and Schulz-Kornas, Ellen and Trost, Manuel and Fiorillo, Denis and Demeter, Fabrice and Patole-Edoumba, Elise and Shackelford, Laura L. and Dunn, Tyler E. and Zachwieja, Alexandra and Duangthongchit, Somoh and Sayavonkhamdy, Thongsa and Sichanthongtip, Phonephanh and Sihanam, Daovee and Souksavatdy, Viengkeo and Hublin, Jean-Jacques and T{\"u}tken, Thomas}, language = {eng}, issn = {0027-8424}, doi = {10.1073/pnas.1911744117}, publisher = {National Academy of Sciences}, address = {Washington}, year = {2020}, date = {2020-03-03}, abstract = {{Dietary habits, especially meat consumption, represent a key aspect in the behavior and evolution of fossil hominin species. Here, we explore zinc (Zn) isotope ratios in tooth enamel of fossil mammals. We show discrimination between different trophic levels and demonstrate that Zn isotopes could prove useful in paleodietary studies of fossil hominin, or other mammalian species, to assess their consumption of animal versus plant resources. We also demonstrate the high preservation potential of pristine diet-related Zn isotope ratios, even under tropical conditions with poor collagen preservation, such as the studied depositional context in Southeast Asia. However, assessing the preservation of original $\delta$66Zn values is required for each fossil site as diagenesis may vary across and even within taphonomic settings.Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios of collagen from bone and dentin have frequently been used for dietary reconstruction, but this method is limited by protein preservation. Isotopes of the trace element zinc (Zn) in bioapatite constitute a promising proxy to infer dietary information from extant and extinct vertebrates. The 66Zn/64Zn ratio (expressed as $\delta$66Zn value) shows an enrichment of the heavy isotope in mammals along each trophic step. However, preservation of diet-related $\delta$66Zn values in fossil teeth has not been assessed yet. Here, we analyzed enamel of fossil teeth from the Late Pleistocene (38.4{\textendash}{\textbraceright}13.5 ka) mammalian assemblage of the Tam Hay Marklot (THM) cave in northeastern Laos, to reconstruct the food web and assess the preservation of original $\delta$66Zn values. Distinct enamel $\delta$66Zn values of the fossil taxa ($\delta$66Zncarnivore lt; $\delta$66Znomnivore lt; $\delta$66Znherbivore) according to their expected feeding habits were observed, with a trophic carnivore-herbivore spacing of +0.60{\textbraceleft}{\textperthousand} and omnivores having intermediate values. Zn and trace element concentration profiles similar to those of modern teeth also indicate minimal impact of diagenesis on the enamel. While further work is needed to explore preservation for settings with different taphonomic conditions, the diet-related $\delta$66Zn values in fossil enamel from THM cave suggest an excellent long-term preservation potential, even under tropical conditions that are well known to be adverse for collagen preservation. Zinc isotopes could thus provide a new tool to assess the diet of fossil hominins and associated fauna, as well as trophic relationships in past food webs.}}, journal = {{Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences}}, volume = {117}, number = {9}, pages = {4431--4433}, }