Dietary reconstruction of Mammuthus columbi from Tultepec, Estado de México, México: A multiproxy approach

Abstract

Using carbon and oxygen isotopic values from tooth enamel, as well as carbon and nitrogen from collagen and, dental microwear analysis, the diet and other paleobiological characteristics of 11 specimens of Mammuthus columbi from the Tultepec I and Tultpec II deposits, Estado de México, México, were inferred; additionally, three mandible bones were radiocarbon dated (13,170–13,450 cal BP). The results of carbon isotope analyses of enamel and collagen reveal that 10 individuals had a mixed C₃/C₄ diet and only one showed δ¹³C values indicative of a C₃ plant-based diet. Similar results were obtained from the analysis of dental microwear, where most individuals were identified as mixed feeders and only one as a browser.

The results of the different proxies suggest that some individuals modified their dietary habits during their lifetime while others maintained them. In the case of δ¹⁸O values, these show that perhaps the Tultepec population was composed of local individuals and migrants from other localities. The variations observed among the δ¹⁵N values of the individuals studied are possibly influenced by milk intake, as well as the consumption of nitrogen-fixing plants and hydric stress.