Strontium-calcium ratios (Sr/Ca) of Australopithecus robustus and associated fauna from Swartkrans

doi:10.1016/0047-2484(92)90049-F

Journal of Human Evolution

Volume 23, Issue 6, December 1992, Pages 495-516

https://doi.org/10.1016/0047-2484(92)90049-F Get rights and content

Abstract

Strontium-calcium ratios (Sr/Ca) are normally reduced at higher trophic levels in foodwebs, due to discrimination against strontium in favour of calcium by animals. This phenomenon has not generally been applied to the study of fossil foodwebs and the diets of early hominids because of diagenetic changes which obscure or obliterate biological Sr/Ca. The examination of compartments of fossil apatite having differing solubility, however, is a promising method for independently measuring biological and diagenetic Sr/Ca. In this study, Sr/Ca in Member I fossils from the site of Swartkrans were examined using a solubility profile procedure. Sr/Ca relationships observed among Swartkrans fauna match those seen in modern African foodwebs, suggesting that biological Sr/Ca accounts for the observed variation.

When specimens of the fossil hominid Australopithecus robustus were examined, Sr/Ca values were inconsistent with that of a root, rhizome or seed-eating herbivore, suggesting that the diet of this species was more diverse than previously believed, and almost certainly included the consumption of animal foods.

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ArticleStrontium-calcium ratios (Sr/Ca) of Australopithecus robustus and associated fauna from Swartkrans

Abstract

Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta

J. Biol. Chem.

Nature

Accts Chem. Res.

Nature

Procavia capensis. Mamm. Species

Evolution

Am. J. phys. Anthrop.

Am. J. phys. Anthrop.

Strontium content of fossil tooth enamel and diet of early hominids

J. Paleont.

Bone strontium content as a dietary indicator in human skeletal populations

“Robust” hominids and Plio-Pleistocene Paleogeography of the Turkana Basin, Kenya and Ethiopia

Behavior of large mammals during the formation of Lake Kariba

High resolution stratigraphy with strontium isotopes

Science

A test of diet versus diagenesis at Ventana Cave, Arizona

J. Archaeol. Sci.

The fossil Cercopithecoidea of South Africa

Ann. Trans. Mus.

Trophic differences between “Gracile” and “Robust” Australopithecines: a scanning electron microscope analysis of occlusal events

S. Afr. J. Sci.

Dental evidence for dietary differences inAustralopithecus andParanthropus: a quantitative analysis of permanent molar microwear

J. hum. Evol.

Differential feeding behavior of the sympatric hyraxProcavia johnstonia andHeterohyrax brucchi

Oecologia

Dental evidence for the diet ofAustralopithecus

Ann. Rev. Anthropol.

Tooth morphology, wear and diet inAustralopithecus andParanthropus from Southern Africa

An elemental analysis of archaeological bone from Sicily as a test of predictability of diagenetic change

Am. J. phys. Anthrop.

Sr isotrophic composition of hydroxyapatite from recent and fossil salmon: the record of lifetime migration and diagenesis

Earth Plan. Sci. Lett.

Nutrient values in indigenous wild plant greens and roots used by the Nuxalle People of Bella Coola, British Columbia

J. Food Comp. Anal.

Comparison of methods for the removal of diagenetic material in buried bone

J. Archeol. Sci.

Stable carbon isotope ratio differences between bone collagen and bone apatite, and their relationship to diet

J. Archaeol. Sci.

Isotopic evidence for dietary differences between two extinct baboon species from Swartkrans, South Africa

J. hum. Evol.

Chemical stability of carbonate- and fluoride-containing apatites

Caries Res.

Retention of strontium, calcium and phosphorus in human infects

Plio-Pleistocene hominid diets and approach combining masticatory and ecological analysis

J. hum. Evol.

Paleodemographic aspects of the South African Australopithecines

Diet and Human Evolution

Trace elements in soil

Article
Strontium-calcium ratios (Sr/Ca) of Australopithecus robustus and associated fauna from Swartkrans