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211 A p p e n d i x 2 Isotopic Analysis of Tianyuan 1 and Associated Faunal Remains YA O W U H U A N D M I C H A E L P. R I C H A R D S AN UNDERSTANDING of changing human adaptations to the environment, specifically their subsistence strategies, is a key part of determining the processes and nature of human evolution. The position of the Tianyuan 1 human remains as one of the oldest marine isotope stage (MIS) 3 modern humans in Eurasia poses the question of whether there might have been documentable shifts in human dietary spectra and emphasis associated with the spread of modern human biology. There have been suggestions, based on European faunal assemblages and inferred from technological changes associated with the emergence of the Upper Paleolithic, that there was a shift in human predatory abilities and associated changes in diet. At the same time, carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analyses of both late archaic humans (Neandertals) and Upper Paleolithic early modern humans in Europe (Richards, Pettitt, et al., 2001; Trinkaus et al., 2009; Richards and Trinkaus, 2009) and analyses of smaller faunal remains (Stiner et al., 1999) have suggested that there was a shift to a broader dietary spectrum with the spread of modern humans, probably including greater emphasis on aquatic resources. But analyses of European large mammal faunal remains (Grayson and Delpech, 2002, 2003, 2008) and organic residues (Hardy et al., 2001), as well as inferences from human functional anatomy (Trinkaus, 2008a), have suggested little change in the human dietary spectrum or predation prior to the Mid Upper Paleolithic. In eastern Eurasia, the nature of human dietary changes that might have been associated with the emergence of modern humans remains unclear. There is evidence at Xujiayao prior to the human biological transition of effective faunal predation (principally cervids) (Norton and Gao, 2008b), and similar evidence is present for Zhoukoudian–Upper Cave (Norton and Gao, 2008a) and Layer III of Tianyuan Cave (Appendix 1). In addition, there is evidence for fish (freshwater carp [Cyprinus and Ctenopharygodon], plus Arca shells) at Zhoukoudian–Upper Cave (Norton and Gao, 2008a). There have been some preliminary discussions of Late Pleis- APPENDIX 2 212 tocene dietary changes in China based on the changes in lithic technology (Chen, 2006; Gao and Pei, 2006), and there are suggestions of dietary breadth expansion in peninsular southeast Asia from the same time horizon as Tianyuan Cave Layer III (Barker et al., 2007). It is in this context that we present a carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur stable isotopic analysis of the Tianyuan 1 human remains and associated fauna from Tianyuan Cave. Stable isotope analysis has been proved to be useful for dietary reconstruction , since it provides direct (if general) evidence for human diets over the last few years of life (Richards, 2002; Sponheimer et al., 2006; Sponheimer and Lee-Thorp, 2007). In addition to the more commonly employed carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes, recent studies have also shown that sulfur isotope values have the potential to reveal whether the principal foods were from terrestrial or freshwater ecosystems (Richards, Fuller, and Hedges, 2001; Richards, Fuller, et al., 2003; Privat et al., 2007). Therefore, sulfur isotope ratios were also analyzed to assess whether Tianyuan 1 consumed significant aquatic resources. Materials and Methods Stable Isotope Analysis All of the samples were prepared using a modified Longin method (Richards and Hedges, 1999) with the addition of an ultrafiltration step (Brown et al., 1988). The procedure for collagen extraction was as follows. The samples were cleaned mechanically by powder abrasion, rinsed in 0.5M HCl at 4°C and refreshed for several days to completely decalcify the bones. The samples were then rinsed to neutrality in deionized water and then gelatinized in HCl (pH: 3) at 70°C for 48 hours. Then the residues were ultrafiltered to isolate the fraction with a molecular weight >30 kDa. Finally, the residues were frozen and lyophilized. Carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur contents and δ13 C, δ15 N, and δ34 S values of collagen were determined through EA-IRMS (Thermo-Finnigan Delta Plus V coupled with a Heka elemental analyzer). Stable isotope ratios are expressed relative to the vPDB standard for carbon, atmospheric N (AIR) for nitrogen, and vCDT for sulfur respectively, using the delta (δ) notation in parts per thousand (‰). Each sample was run in duplicate, and an internal standard was measured with each set of ten samples. The contents of carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur, and the...

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