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Paleobiological Implications of the Isotopic Signatures (13C,15N) of Fossil Mammal Collagen in Scladina Cave (Sclayn, Belgium)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Hervé Bocherens ,
Daniel Billiou ,
Marylène Patou-Mathis ,
Dominique Bonjean ,
Marcel Otte  and
André Mariotti
Hervé Bocherens
Affiliation:
Laboratoire de Biogéochimie Isotopique, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, CNRS–INRA, UMR 162, 4 place Jussieu, F-75252, Paris Cedex 05, France
Daniel Billiou
Affiliation:
Laboratoire de Biogéochimie Isotopique, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, CNRS–INRA, UMR 162, 4 place Jussieu, F-75252, Paris Cedex 05, France
Marylène Patou-Mathis
Affiliation:
Institut de Paléontologie Humaine, 1 rue René Panhard, 75013, Paris, France
Dominique Bonjean
Affiliation:
Asbl Archéologie Andennaise, Grand'Place, 132, B-5300, Sclayn, Belgium
Marcel Otte
Affiliation:
Centre de Recherche sur les Civilisations Paléolithiques en Europe, Université de Liège, Préhistoire, 7, Place du 20 Août, A1, B-40000, Liège 1, Belgium
André Mariotti
Affiliation:
Laboratoire de Biogéochimie Isotopique, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, CNRS-INRA, UMR 162, 4 place Jussieu, F-75252 Paris Cedex 05, France
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Abstract

An isotopic investigation of upper Pleistocene mammal bones and teeth from Scladina cave (Sclayn, Belgium) demonstrated the very good quality of collagen preservation. A preliminary screening of the samples used the amount of nitrogen in whole bone and dentine in order to estimate the preserved amount of collagen before starting the extraction process. The isotopic abundances of fossil specimens from still-extant species are consistent with their trophic position. Moreover, the15N isotopic abundance is higher in dentine than in bone in bears and hyenas, a phenomenon already observed in modern specimens. These results demonstrate that the isotopic compositions of samples from Scladina cave can be interpreted in ecological terms. Mammoths exhibit a high15N isotopic abundance relative to other herbivores, as was the case in Siberian and Alaskan samples. These results suggest distinctive dietary adaptations in herbivores living in the mammoth steppe. Cave bears are clearly isotopically different from coeval brown bears, suggesting an ecological separation between species, with a pure vegetarian diet for cave bear and an omnivorous diet for brown bear.

Type
Research Article
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 48 , Issue 3 , November 1997 , pp. 370 - 380
Copyright
University of Washington

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