Swartkrans and Makapansgat Non-Primate Fauna Isotope Study

This project is focused on reconstructing the trophic ecology of fauna associated with early hominins in the Cradle of Humankind, South Africa. We are requesting access to destructively sample ca. 5 mg of enamel from non-primate faunal teeth from Makapansgat Limeworks Member 3 (n = 113) as well as Swartkrans Member 1 (n = 82), Member 2 (n = 81), and Member 3 (n = 91) for stable isotope analyses of nitrogen (δ15N), carbon (δ13C), and oxygen (δ18O). Sampled specimens will include individuals belonging to different trophic levels (herbivores, omnivores, and carnivores), with diverse feeding strategies (browsers, grazers, and mixed feeders), and will be used to reconstruct the ancient food web dynamics of the Makapansgat and Swartkrans assemblages. The new stable isotope data that will be produced for these fauna will represent the first nitrogen isotope measurements of fossil tooth enamel for these important fossil localities, which, in combination with δ13C and δ18O values measured in the same aliquot of enamel powder, will significantly expand the isotopic dataset available for these sites and provide important new ecological information about trophic structure, dietary niche, and resource use in these faunas. This unprecedented faunal dataset will also serve as an isotopic baseline for potential future hominin isotope studies focused on documenting the evolution and diversification of early hominin diets throughout the Plio-Pleistocene in southern Africa, with specific emphasis on addressing the question of animal resource consumption.