Calcium isotopic patterns in enamel reflect different nursing behaviors among South African early hominins

Nursing is pivotal in the social and biological evolution of hominins, but to date, early-life behavior among hominin lineages is a matter of debate. The calcium isotopic compositions (δ(44/42)Ca) of tooth enamel can provide dietary information on this period. Here, we measure the δ(44/42)Ca values in spatially located microsized regions in tooth enamel of 37 South African hominins to reconstruct early-life dietary-specific variability in Australopithecus africanus, Paranthropus robustus, and early Homo. Very low δ(44/42)Ca values (<−1.4‰), indicative of milk consumption, are measured in early Homo but not in A. africanus and P. robustus. In these latter taxa, transitional or adult nonmilk foods must have been provided in substantial quantities relative to breast milk rapidly after birth. The results suggest that early Homo have continued a predominantly breast milk–based nursing period for longer than A. africanus and P. robustus and have consequently more prolonged interbirth interval.