Isotope ratios provide a window into prehistoric diets

By Rachel Brazil
18 August 2025

Analytical chemistry can tell us what our ancestors ate thousands – or even millions – of years ago. Rachel Brazil gets her teeth into the evidence

Article summary

Stable isotope analysis reveals ancient diets: By measuring ratios of carbon and nitrogen isotopes in bones and teeth, scientists can determine whether prehistoric individuals consumed C3 or C4 plants, and whether they were herbivores or carnivores. This technique has illuminated dietary habits from Neanderthals to early hominins.

Advanced methods refine dietary insights: Techniques like compound-specific isotope analysis (CSIA-AA) and novel nitrogen extraction from tooth enamel are helping researchers distinguish trophic levels and detect meat consumption, even in ancient and poorly preserved samples.

Neanderthal and early human diets diverged: While Neanderthals primarily consumed large herbivores, early modern humans showed more dietary flexibility, including fish consumption. High nitrogen isotope ratios in Neanderthals may reflect mammoth meat consumption or metabolic adaptations.

Tooth enamel expands the timeline: Innovations in calcium and nitrogen isotope analysis from enamel allow researchers to study weaning ages and dietary shifts in hominins millions of years ago, supporting theories like the ‘expensive tissue hypothesis’ linking diet quality to brain evolution.

More:
https://www.chemistryworld.com/features/how-stable-isotope-analysis-reveals-what-ancient-humans-and-neanderthals-ate/4021977.article