The Answers Lie Within their Bones

Using the article “Stable isotope dietary analysis of the Tianyuan 1 early modern human” as a primary source, Neil Schoenherr does well at summarizing recent results from studies on the possibility of freshwater fish being part of the human diet for at least 40,000 years. These studies were performed by comparing the sulfur isotope values in a Tianyuan 1 human fossil, dating from 40,000 years ago, to animals that do have such a diet. The scientists were also able to use the presence of carbon and nitrogen in the Tianyuan 1 bone as indicators of animal protein, with nitrogen also being a possible indicator of freshwater fish.

According to the primary article, for this research, bone samples, belonging to a human, 2 sikka deer, 9 unidentified herbivores and a wild cat, all found in Tianyuan Cave, were used. Also used were fish samples from a later time period than that of Tianyuan Cave. This was feasible because of the consistency in the sulfur isotope signals due to geological relevance.

Although I find Schoenherr’ article, “First direct evidence of substantial fish consumption by early modern humans in China” (Schoenherr, 2009) quite well written, my only concern would be the certainty he uses to make his claim. It is true that the sulfur, carbon and nitrogen isotopes almost prove the presence of freshwater fish in early humans diets; however Schoenherr fails to mention certain contradictory points such as that in which no fish bones were found in Tianyuan Cave, or that of the lack of contemporary fish from Tianyuan Cave. The last point mentioned could have had an effect on the accuracy of the research, and both points were explained in the primary source.

This sentence written by Schoenherr did take his article to a more interesting level:

Chemical analysis of the protein collagen, using ratios of the isotopes of nitrogen and sulfur in particular, can show whether such fish consumption was an occasional treat or a regular food item. (Schoenherr, 2009)

However, I believe it would have made his text richer had he also included an explanation of how the isotopes are related to freshwater fish and how they used those isotopes to compare the Tianyuan 1 fossil to different animals. That little bit of information could have made the text easier to understand, without necessarily being too detailed and taking away from the purpose of the article.

Schoenherr’ article was short and stated his point well. The title he used was not over-exaggerated yet it was interesting enough to want to read what he wrote; he used numbers to make the information more clear (40,000 years old); his statements were not too vague; and he kept to the information provided in the primary article. A better version of his article might have included more base information on the materials and methods, as more people could have then been able to understand what was being presented. Also, a brief mention of certain problems the scientists had to face during the analyzing process would have been helpful and led to a more insightful grasp of the limitations behind the results. Otherwise, Schoenherr’ article was well written.

References

Schoenherr, Neil. (2009) First direct evidence of substantial fish consumption by early modern humans in China. Washington University in St. Louis News & Information; issue 14346; 9 July 2009. http://news-info.wustl.edu/tips/page/normal/14346.html. Accessed 6 October 2009.

Hu, Y., Shang, H., Tong, H., Nehlich, O., Liu, W., Zhao, C., et al. Stable isotope dietary analysis of the Tianyuan 1 early modern human. PNAS, issue 10971, 7 July 2009. http://www.pnas.org/content/106/27/10971.full. Accessed 6 October 2009.