Reconstructing the palaeodiet of Ursus spelaeus during MIS 5 through isotopic analysis of tooth enamel and bone collagen from Cueva de Guantes (Palencia, Spain)
摘要
In this study, we analysed the carbon and oxygen isotopic values of dental enamel and carbon and nitrogen bone collagen in cave bear (Ursus spelaeus) remains from Galería 1, inside the Cueva de Guantes (Palencia, Spain). Likewise, luminescence dating was carried out on the stratigraphic level corresponding to these specimens. The results obtained from dating showed that these bears lived during early Last Pleistocene (OSL 1904; 93,97 ± 8,06 ka). On the other hand, the carbon isotopic values in enamel and collagen indicate that cubs, adult and senile specimens had similar isotopic signals. Additionally, oxygen isotopic values also suggest that the sources of water consumed were isotopically similar. On the other hand, the δ15NAIR values of collagen are exceptionally high for the Iberian Peninsula, however, they also exhibited no significant differences in cubs, adults and seniles.