Review of paleo-humidity parameters in fossil rodents (Mammalia): Isotopic vs. tooth morphology approach
Paleoecology of fossil rodents is frequently inferred from the dental pattern of the teeth, attributing the habitat conditions of extant rodents to fossil species with similar dental pattern. This technique is common practice and has been in use for several decades. A relatively new technique is based on the carbon and oxygen isotope composition of the incisor enamel of fossil rodents to reconstruct paleoenvironmental scenarios. We combine these two methods, studying material from two Early Miocene Spanish sections, one in the Mediterranean coastal area and one in Northcentral inland Spain. Comparison of the humidity values obtained by means of these two proxies reveals discrepancies. There…
Archaeology, chronology, and age-diet insights of two late fourth millennium cal BC pit graves from central southern Iberia (Córdoba, Spain)
This study presents the isotopic ratios, radiocarbon datings, and anthropological analyses of five (N = 5) Early Copper Age individuals from two archaeological sites (Arruzafa and Iglesia Antigua de Alcolea) of the Middle Guadalquivir Valley near the city of Córdoba (Spain). Four had been buried in the same grave, possibly in a single event or in a very short time lapse. The collagen residue analyses of the individuals offer δC values ranging between −20.08 and −18.4 and δN values between 8.57 and 11.15. The findings indicate that the infant and the elderly had, respectively, the richest and poorest animal protein diets, the first likely as a result of nursing. The combined study of these f…