@article {313094, title = {Neanderthal behaviour, diet, and disease inferred from ancient DNA in dental calculus}, journal = {Nature}, volume = {advance online publication}, year = {2017}, month = {2017/03/08}, pages = { - }, abstract = {

Recent genomic data have revealed multiple interactions between Neanderthals and modern humans1, but there is currently little genetic evidence regarding Neanderthal behaviour, diet, or disease. Here we describe the shotgun-sequencing of ancient DNA from five specimens of Neanderthal calcified dental plaque (calculus) and the characterization of regional differences in Neanderthal ecology. At Spy cave, Belgium, Neanderthal diet was heavily meat based and included woolly rhinoceros and wild sheep (mouflon), characteristic of a steppe environment. In contrast, no meat was detected in the diet of Neanderthals from El Sidr{\'o}n cave, Spain, and dietary components of mushrooms, pine nuts, and moss reflected forest gathering2,\ 3. Differences in diet were also linked to an overall shift in the oral bacterial community (microbiota) and suggested that meat consumption contributed to substantial variation within Neanderthal microbiota. Evidence for self-medication was detected in an El Sidr{\'o}n Neanderthal with a dental abscess4\ and a chronic gastrointestinal pathogen (Enterocytozoon bieneusi). Metagenomic data from this individual also contained a nearly complete genome of the archaeal commensal\ Methanobrevibacter oralis\ (10.2{\texttimes} depth of coverage){\textemdash}the oldest draft microbial genome generated to date, at around 48,000 years old. DNA preserved within dental calculus represents a notable source of information about the behaviour and health of ancient hominin specimens, as well as a unique system that is useful for the study of long-term microbial evolution.

}, isbn = {1476-4687}, doi = {doi:10.1038/nature21674}, url = {http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nature21674.html}, author = {Weyrich, Laura S. and Duchene, Sebastian and Soubrier, Julien and Arriola, Luis and Llamas, Bastien and Breen, James and Morris, Alan G. and Alt, Kurt W. and Caramelli, David and Dresely, Veit and Farrell, Milly and Farrer, Andrew G. and Francken, Michael and Gully, Neville and Haak, Wolfgang and Hardy, Karen and Harvati, Katerina and Held, Petra and Holmes, Edward C. and Kaidonis, John and Lalueza-Fox, Carles and de la Rasilla, Marco and Rosas, Antonio and Semal, Patrick and Soltysiak, Arkadiusz and Townsend, Grant and Usai, Donatella and Wahl, Joachim and Huson, Daniel H. and Dobney, Keith and Cooper, Alan} }