A Multi-Isotope Approach to Early Childhood Palaeolithic Diet and Provenance from a Magdalenian Individual from Northern Iberia

Multi-isotope analysis on various body tissues is increasingly used in archaeology and palaeontology to provide valuable information about an individual’s life-history at different temporal resolutions (isobiographies). This paper presents the dietary and mobility reconstruction and anthropological study of a recently identified Magdalenian child from Los Canes cave (Asturias, Spain), through conventional osteological analysis, sequential stable carbon and nitrogen (𝛿13C and 𝛿15N) isotope analysis of tooth dentine and strontium (87Sr/86Sr) analysis of tooth enamel from an upper deciduous canine, accompanied by 𝛿13C and 𝛿15N measurements of bone collagen from an incomplete mandible, posited to belong to the same individual. Modern plants and snail shells from several geological units are used to estimate the regional bioavailable strontium isotope (BASr) baseline. The anthropological characteristics of the tooth and mandible (including other teeth) are compatible with a child of 2–4 years of age. Sequential 𝛿13C and 𝛿15N isotope values show an increase during the first months of life, attributed to exclusive breastfeeding. After eight months, isotope values decrease progressively, suggesting the beginning of the weaning period. High 𝛿15N values identified throughout the whole isotope sequence suggest a substantial intake of high-level protein linked to the mother consuming marine resources, and/or their use as weaning foods. The 87Sr/86Sr ratios are consistent with the individual spending the earliest months of life close to Los Canes cave. Finally, when comparing the 𝛿13C and 𝛿15N isotope values to other Magdalenian human data, the Los Canes individual shows the highest 𝛿15N values so far known for the period, suggesting a significant contribution of marine resources to diet during the Late Upper Palaeolithic of the Cantabrian region.