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Isotopic evidence for the timing of the dietary shift toward C₄ foods in eastern African Paranthropus.

ABSTRACT: New approaches to the study of early hominin diets have refreshed interest in how and when our diets diverged from those of other African apes. A trend toward significant consumption of C₄ foods in hominins after this divergence has emerged as a landmark event in human evolution, with direct evidence provided by stable carbon isotope studies. In this study, we report on detailed carbon isotopic evidence from the hominin fossil record of the Shungura and Usno Formations, Lower Omo Valley, Ethiopia, which elucidates the patterns of C₄ dietary utilization in the robust hominin Paranthropus The results show that the most important shift toward C₄ foods occurred at ?2.37 Ma, within the temporal range of the earliest known member of the genus, Paranthropus aethiopicus, and that this shift was not unique to Paranthropus but occurred in all hominins from this fossil sequence. This uptake of C₄ foods by hominins occurred during a period marked by an overall trend toward increased C₄ grazing by cooccurring mammalian taxa from the same sequence. However, the timing and geographic patterns of hominin diets in this region differ from those observed elsewhere in the same basin, where environmental controls on the underlying availability of various food sources were likely quite different. These results highlight the complexities of dietary responses by hominins to changes in the availability of food resources.

SUBMITTER: Wynn JG

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7486737 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Isotopic evidence for the timing of the dietary shift toward C4 foods in eastern African Paranthropus.

Wynn Jonathan G JG Alemseged Zeresenay Z Bobe René R Grine Frederick E FE Negash Enquye W EW Sponheimer Matt M

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 20200824 36

New approaches to the study of early hominin diets have refreshed interest in how and when our diets diverged from those of other African apes. A trend toward significant consumption of C4 foods in hominins after this divergence has emerged as a landmark event in human evolution, with direct evidence provided by stable carbon isotope studies. In this study, we report on detailed carbon isotopic evidence from the hominin fossil record of the Shungura and Usno Formations, Lower Omo Vall ...[more]

PMID: 32839330

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Project description:Background: The key issue is whether voluntarily fortified foods and vitamin/mineral supplements available on the market serve public health needs. The study aim was to estimate nutrient intakes from voluntarily fortified foods and vitamin/mineral supplements in relation to the Dietary Reference Intake (DRI) in adolescents (n = 759) aged 13-19 who attended public secondary schools in Central-Eastern Poland. Methods: Data on the consumption of voluntarily fortified foods were collected using a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire containing 58 food items. Data on the use of dietary supplements were assessed via an open-ended question. The content of nutrients was estimated using the producer's labeling declaration. The distribution of nutrient intakes according to the percentage of DRI categories (<20%, 20-39.9%, 40-59.9%, 60-79.9%, 80-99.9%, 100-119%, or >120%) was estimated. Results: Consumption of voluntarily fortified foods was a common behavior in adolescents (86.7% of participants), while vitamin/mineral supplements were used by less than one-fifth of them (17.7%). The amounts of nutrient intakes from fortified foods and/or supplements were at different levels: (I) vitamins A, D, calcium, magnesium (>50% of adolescents did not exceed 20% of DRI); (II) vitamins E, B12, iron (>50% of respondents consumed at least 20% of DRI); (III) niacin and pantothenic acid (>50% of respondents consumed at least 40% of DRI); IV) vitamins C, B1, B2, B6, folate, biotin (>50% of participants consumed at least 60% of DRI). In a subgroup of respondents who used fortified foods and supplements simultaneously (n = 126), some nutrients (i.e., vitamins C, B1, B2, B6, niacin, and biotin) were consumed in amounts ≥150% of DRI. Intake above the Tolerable Upper Intake Levels was observed for niacin, vitamin A, B6 and folic acid in individual cases (up to 1.1% of respondents); a higher risk of overconsumption was associated with using vitamin/mineral supplements than voluntarily fortified foods. Conclusion: Adolescents should be educated on how to reasonably use fortified foods and dietary supplements to help to overcome the potential deficiency of nutrients without causing excessive consumption.

Dataset Information

Isotopic evidence for the timing of the dietary shift toward C₄ foods in eastern African Paranthropus.

Publications

Isotopic evidence for the timing of the dietary shift toward C<sub>4</sub> foods in eastern African <i>Paranthropus</i>.

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