Using state-of-the-art intra-tooth laser ablation strontium isotope analysis, and targeting the preserved remains of cave bears (and brown bears) from selected Late Pleistocene European sites, this project will undertake the first targeted investigation of cave bear spatial ecology. Strontium data will be integrated with other proxy isotope data (sulphur, oxygen) and compared to baseline ‘isoscapes’ in order to reconstruct the range sizes of these different species and explore inter-species differences. Radiocarbon dating and comparison to site-based chronological and environmental records will be employed to explore any temporal trends during the last glacial period (MIS 4 to MIS 2). Mobility/range size indicators will be combined with evidence for the dietary ecology of the specimens, including carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis and dental microwear analysis (Pappa et al. 2019), in combination with sexing data (via proteomics), to allow the exploration of any relationship between ranging behaviours, sex and dietary ecology.
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