Primate Ecology &
Molecular Anthropology Lab

University of California Santa Cruz
Anthropology Department

THE LAB

Primate Ecology & Molecular Anthropology (PEMA) Lab

The PEMA lab at UCSC, which opened in 2018, works at the intersection of isotope biogeochemistry, primatology and archaeology.

Our research mainly relies on stable isotope analysis (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr, δ¹⁸O, δ¹⁵N, δ¹³C, δ³⁴S, δ⁶⁶Zn, δ⁵⁶Fe, δ⁶⁵Cu) in the study of primate ecology and past human behavior.

We have a focus on establishing isotope baselines and isoscapes, which are fundamental to most isotope projects.

We also employ direct observations and camera traps to study primate behavior in the wild, as well as rope based tree climbing for arboreal sample collection.

strontium extraction from skeletal remains, plants, mollusks and soil in clean lab setting
collagen extraction from bone/dentin
tooth enamel prep for ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr, δ¹⁸O and δ¹³C analyses
processing of primate hair and feces meeting bio-safety standards (BSL 2)
enamel silver phosphate extraction (δ¹⁸O)
microscopy

picture by Vicky Oelze at Elkhorn Slough

Land Acknolwegement by the PEMA lab:

“The land on which we work at UCSC is the unceded territory of the Awaswas-speaking Uypi Tribe. The Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, comprised of the descendants of indigenous people taken to missions Santa Cruz and San Juan Bautista during Spanish colonization of the Central Coast, is today working hard to restore traditional stewardship practices on these lands and heal from historical trauma.”

ENSLAVED LIFE HISTORIES

The origins and life histories of enslaved Africans from Lagos (Portugal) revealed by multi isotope analysis

Meet our international team!

Thanks to generous funding by the National Geographic Society we were able to welcome five incredible students from Portuguese universities to the team working on the human remains from Valle da Gafaria, investigating these individuals' life histories and African roots via stable isotope analysis.

Students are from the fields of forensic anthropology, bioarcheology, archaeology and primatology with roots in Brazil, Guinea-Bissau, Nigeria, Portugal, and Spain. Later in the summer, another UCSC alumni with a background in forensics as well as our PostDoc Xueye joined the group to assist with the stable isotope sample preparation at UCSC.
The team working together at UCSC; photo from left to right:
Carina Leirião, Naima Tucker, Ana González Ruiz, Xueye Wang, Toto, Vicky Oelze, Joseph Babatunde Ogunsetire, Luis Sanca, Luiza Báo Sobreira

Our initial 2 week sampling fieldwork commenced in June 2022 at the Anthropology Department of the University of Coimbra, with 5 students and the Co-PIs Maria Teresa Ferreira and Sophia Wasterlain. Students were trained in sampling of human tooth enamel and dentin, briefed in lab safety and their rights and obligations as project members. We successfully sampled tooth enamel and dentin from all human remains with preserved dentition recovered from Valle da Gafaria. We also held lectures on the archaeology of Valle da Gafaria and the bioarcheology of the human remains, as well as on stable isotope ecology.
In August 2022, the students came to California and spent almost 2 weeks in the PEMA lab at UCSC to process all ~120 dental samples for multiple isotope analysis. We extracted collagen from dentin samples using the ultracentrifugation method, weighed collagen vor δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N analysis and enamel samples for δ¹⁸O and δ¹³C analysis, and prepared enamel samples for ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr analysis in the clean lab facilities of the Keck lab.
Further, we had engaging guest lectures on the History of the Transatlantic Slave Trade (Greg O'Malley, UCSC) the Archaeology of Slavery and the African Diaspora (Cameron Monroe, UCSC), and highly informative lab tours in the Stable Isotope Lab by Colin Carney and of the Keck Isotope Facility by Terry Blackburn (see images below). Many thanks to all speakers for spending time with us, we appreciate you sharing your knowledge!

Project Background

The archaeological site of Valle da Gafaria in Lagos is known as the earliest and largest burial site of enslaved Africans ever found in Europe, predating one of the most shameful chapters of Western history, the Transatlantic slave trade. Bioarchaeological evidence obtained from a total of 158 individuals proves they were of African origin and forcefully deported to Lagos in the 15^th to 17^th centuries. However, the African regions they were abducted from remain unknown. This makes it difficult to connect them with descendant communities today and to assess Portugal’s early collusion in the slave trade.

Multiple stable isotope analysis has the potential to address questions regarding the African origins and dramatic shifts in lifestyles of the individuals discovered at Valle da Gafaria as isotope ratios are incorporated into forming skeletal tissues and can be associated with specific dietary customs (carbon, nitrogen, sulfur), environments (carbon, sulfur), climate/geographic region (oxygen) and geological location (strontium), and hence overall life conditions. Sampling small amounts of dental tissue, which reflect early (1^st molar enamel) and later childhood (1^st molar root) as well as adolescence (3^rd molar enamel) and early adulthood (3^rd molar roots), allows us to trace how living conditions changed through a person’s early life.

We will measure these isotopes in teeth from the human remains from Valle da Gafaria in collaboration with our Portuguese colleagues and our international team of students to reconstruct individual human origins and to document the rapid changes in life conditions as the result of forced migration from West and Central Africa to Portugal. Isotopic similarities between individuals may suggest they are of common origin. We will also consult complimentary evidence such as dental modifications and signs of nutritional stress as well as the factors age and sex when reconstructing individual life histories.

This project is supported by and consulting with members of Djass - Associação de Afrodescendentes to actively include the voices of members of the afrodescendant community in Portugal into this project and the dissemination of our findings.

TEAM

Dr. Vicky M. Oelze

associate professor, lab PI
lab director anthropology department

voelze@ucsc.edu

Dr. Gaëlle Bocksberger

assistant researcher
2022-present

gbocksbe@ucsc.edu

Dr. Xueye Wang

postdoctoral researcher
2022-present

xwang409@ucsc.edu

Renee Boucher

PhD student
2019-present

rdbouche@ucsc.edu

Seth Phillips

PhD student
2018-present
secphill@ucsc.edu

David Ingleman

PhD student
2019-present

ingleman@ucsc.edu

Kayla Ott

interim lab manger
for all anthropology laboratories
(2022-present)

kzott@ucsc.edu

Toto

assistant
(2018-present)

does not check his emails regularly

chimp video coding team

undergraduate student
cohort 2022-2023

Halena Soto (peer advisor), Thomas Poppas, CJ King, Gwen Pardon, Hannha Peterson, Tyler Clark, Nicola Luna Cervantes, Maiya Higa-Okohira, Sachi Powelson, Serena Mueller, Nate Voss, Tracy Dao

CURRENT RESEARCH PROJECTS

our current research endeavors and the people behind them

Pan African Strontium Isoscape

Vicky M. Oelze with Xueye Wang and Gaelle Bocksberger

The analysis of the stable isotopes of strontium (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr) is a well-established tool in archaeological science to trace back the geological origin of an organism, e.g. where a person was born and raised. Several studies have measured the ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr values in the remains of humans subjected to slavery in the Americas. However, these studies were largely unable to pinpoint human origins beyond the identification that some individuals must have been born somewhere in Africa because spatial bioavailable ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr data barely exists for Sub-Saharan Africa. Environmental strontium isotope mapping of West and Central Africa can provide a solid foundation for future forensic investigations of historic human displacement during the transatlantic slave trade. This new map will also be relevant for wildlife forensics, as isotopes are a increasingly used method to identify hotspots of illegal poaching activity. This project has the potential to be have significant impact on the archaeology of Africa and the transatlantic slave trade, as well as for wildlife conservation. We are looking forward to possibly extending this project to sulfur, oxygen and possibly lead isotope data in the future.

We are generously funded through the Webster Foundation and are collaborating on this project with the Pan African Programme (http://panafrican.eva.mpg.de/), former Primatology Department, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany, as well as many collaborating botanist and archaeologists worldwide.

Cu, Fe, Zn and Sr isotopes as bio-markers of human
and non-human primate life history

Renee Boucher and Vicky M. Oelze

While Strontium isotopes (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr) have been used for two decades to reconstruct the mobility patterns of prehistoric people and even fossil hominins, the isotopic measurement of other elements with large mass have only more recently become technically feasible to be of use in anthropology. Initial work on Copper and Iron stable isotope ratios (δ⁵⁶Fe, δ⁶⁵Cu) suggests that there are significant differences between human males and females, presumably due to different metabolism and function of these elements in female reproductive physiology. The isotope ratios of Zink (δ⁶⁶Zn) measured in tooth enamel have recently been described to correspond to the trophic level in the food web, making this element potentially extremely valuable for paleodietary reconstructions in fossils. We measure in enamel samples from the Tai chimpanzee skeletal collection to reconstruct female mobility and potentially identify the areas to which they were native. We measure δ⁵⁶Fe and δ⁶⁵Cu values to explore how these isotope systems between male and female chimpanzees to test the utility of this approach to differentiate between the sexes in other large bodied primates such as fossil hominoids. Finally we test the use of δ⁶⁶Zn in enamel of wild chimpanzees to address questions of tropic level and meat consumption, where nitrogen isotopes yielded contradicting results.

We are collaborating with Roman Wittig (Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany) and Klervia Jaouen (Géosciences Environnement, Toulouse, France).

hunter-gatherer mobility revealed through strontium isotope analysis

collaborations with archaeologists at UC Davis and Vicky M. Oelze

We are collaborating with faculty members and graduate students from the Evolutionary Anthropology Wing of the Anthropology Department at UC Davis on several independent projects using strontium isotopes (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr) to reconstruct prehistoric hunter-gatherer mobility and catchment areas. These projects include archaeological and modern material from South Africa, the United States and Peru. We provide fast sample turnover for environmental reference samples used to build regional ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr isoscapes and prepare and analyze human dental enamel samples for ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr and δ¹⁸O.

We collaborate with Patricia McNeil and Teresa Steel (https://anthropology.ucdavis.edu/people/testeele), with Candice Ralston and Prof. Jelmer Eerkens (https://anthropology.ucdavis.edu/people/jweerken) and with Thomas Snyder and Prof. Randy Haas (https://anthropology.ucdavis.edu/people/wrhaas).

Changes in crop management in prehistoric South Korea

Vicky M. Oelze, Brynn Lowry & Gyoung-Ah Lee

Together with archaeobotanist Lee we use stable isotope analysis to examine how ancient agricultural management practices in raised field farming have changed over time at the archaeological site of Pyeonggeodong in south-central South Korea. Alongside radiocarbondating, are analyzing the carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios in individual charred macoremains of barley (Hordeum sativum), wheat (Triticum aestivum), foxtail millet (Setaria italica), broomcorn millet (Panicum millaceum) and rice (Oryza sativa), as well as soy (Grycine max ssp.) and azuki beans (Vigina angluris). These specimen date to the Neolithic Chulmun period (~5000 calBP), the Bronze Age, Three Kingdom Period to the Goryeo Dynasty (~1000-500 calBP). We are specifically interested in how irrigation and manuring strategies have changed over time as farming transitioned from millet and azuki production to a larger diversity of cereals.

We are collaborating on this project with Gyoung-Ah Lee (Anthropology Department, University of Oregon) https://anthropology.uoregon.edu/profile/galee/

picture by Niina Nurmi (LuiKotale Bonobo Project)

bonobo weaning behavior

Vicky M. Oelze, with help of Isabella O'Neal and Kayla Ott

Weaning, the process from breastfeeding to solid food intake in infants, is an important and critical phase in primate ontogeny which is extremely difficult to monitor in elusive wild primate species. Particularly in great apes such as bonobos (Pan paniscus), observations on breastfeeding and weaning are limited due to the arboreal nature of this species. Stable isotope analysis has proven to be a powerful tool to assess changes in diets of elusive animals over time. In this project we employ stable isotope analysis to indirectly and non-invasively monitor the process of ceasing breastmilk in the diet of wild infant bonobos by analyzing fecal samples from wild bonobos of the LuiKotale Bonobo Project in the Democratic Republic of Congo. By monitoring the weaning process throughout infant ontogeny in males and females, we will be able to address questions on sex biased maternal investment in wild bonobos.

This project is a collaborative venture between the PEMA lab, Barbara Fruth and Gottfried Hohmann representing the LuiKotale Bonobo Project.

The Hawaiian Social Zooarchaeology Project

David Ingleman, advised by Eréndira M. Quintana Morales and Vicky M. Oelze

Ritualized, politicized, and reciprocal relationships characterized the earliest historically documented Hawaiian interspecies interactions. However, following the colonial encounter, commodified forms of multispecies sociality and radically simplified plantation ecologies increasingly transformed the socio-natural environment. Working with legacy collections excavated from middens at the ʻIolani Palace—a key site of political authority in the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi from 1845 until 1893—and animal burials from other sites, this study will combine archival and artifact analyses with morphological, stable isotope, and genetic analyses of archaeofaunal remains to cast light on the multispecies practice and embodied experiences of nineteenth-century sovereignty in the Hawaiian kingdom. Initial results document both persistence and selective change in feasting and animal husbandry practices. For example, although historically undocumented, dog meat remained on the table well into the nineteenth century. On the other hand, stable isotope evidence suggests variability in animal husbandry practices. Moreover, metal tool butchery marks and the remains of introduced animal species, as well as possibly exotic breeds of domesticated dog and pig, shed light on dynamic interspecies interactions.

chimpanzee termite fishing ecology

Seth Phillips, advised by Vicky Oelze

Seth is studying the relationship between chimpanzees and Macrotemes termites in the Isaa valley of Tanzania. He investigates how much of the termites' complex ecology and reproductive cycle effects the chimpanzees ability to successfully fish for termites across the seasons. How do chimpanzees know when it is a good day to fish? And how do termites respond to predation by chimpanzees and does that vary over time?

Seth will examine whether the swarming behavior of the Macrotermes alates provides an ephemeral opportunity for chimpanzees to effectively termite-fish at Issa and beyond. Seth will experimentally replicate termite-fishing behavior at a selection of Macrotermes mounds. From long-term camera trap footage Seth will additionally assess the timing, the duration/intensity and the mode of chimpanzees visiting and re-visiting termite mounds. Read and see more about his field experience at Issa Valley here .

We are collaborating on this project with Alex Piel and the GMERC (http://gmerc.org/).

"A bite of chimp habitat" - dental proxies for habitat in extant chimps

Vicky M. Oelze with the PanAf and the MPWC

Stable isotope ratios have been measured in a range of fossil teeth from early African hominins and great apes from Africa and Asia. Isotope data suggests that many fossil hominin taxa in Africa were adapted to open environments and depended highly on C₄plantfood resources. Although savanna chimpanzees are frequently used to model the ecology of these fossil species based on the biochemistry of their tooth enamel, there is little dental enamel isotope data from different chimpanzee populations, and none from those inhabiting savanna woodlands, more similar to environments presumably inhabited by fossil hominins. The same can be said about dental microtexture analysis. We close these gaps by providing a combined carbon and oxygen isotope and dental microwear dataset from forest and savanna chimpanzees and by integrating comprehensive information on their habitats. We predict that canopy cover and habitat density will be differently be reflected in dental carbon and oxygen stable isotope ratios. Differences in the biomechanical properties of plant foods between savanna and forest habitats (van Casteren et al. 2018) will also be reflected in distinct microtexture patterns. By integrating detailed habitat and climate information to the dental ecology data we will provide a completely new framework for the interpretation of isotopic and microwear data from fossil primates, including hominins.

Project PI Vicky Oelze (UCSC), with Gaelle Bocksberger (PanAf, MPI-EVA), Ellen Schulz-Kornas, Kornelius Kupczik and Adam van Casteren (MPWC and MPI-EVA).

the demographics of termite fishing chimpanzees

Vicky M. Oelze and Victoria Collins

Wild chimpanzees across Africa fish for termites using complex tool kits made of sticks or other parts of vegetation. We still little understand how this complex cultural behavior and knowledge is transferred from one generation to the next via social learning. Using camera trap footage data from the Issa chimpanzees (GMERC), assistant Victoria Collins is investigating sex differences in chimpanzee termite mount visitation rates and how long females stay actively fishing at termite mounts compared to males, particularly when they are with their dependent offspring.

We are collaborating on this project with Alex Piel and the GMERC (http://gmerc.org/).

PUBLICATIONS

latest update 1/2023

In the pipeline

Wang X., Bockberger G., Lautenschläger T., Finckh M., Meller P., O'Malley G.E., Oelze V.M. (in review): A bioavailable strontium isoscape of Angola and with implications for reconstructions of the Transatlantic Slave Trade. Journal of Archaeological Science

Oelze V.M., Ott K., Lee S., O’Neal I., Hohmann G., Fruth B. (in review): The first isotopic assessment of weaning age in wild bonobos (Pan paniscus) shows evidence for extended breastfeeding, sibling competition and invested first-time mothers. Proceedings of the Royal Society B

Wang, X., Bocksberger, G., Agbor, A., Angedakin, S., Aubert, F., Ayuk Ayimisin, E, Bailey, E., Barubiyo, D., Bessone, M., Bobe, R., Bonnet, M., Boucher, R., Brazzola, G., Brewer, S., Lee, K., Carvalho, S., Chancellor, R., Cipoletta, C., Cohen, H., Copeland, S.R., Corogenes, K., Costa, A.M., Coupland, C., Curran, B., de Ruiter, D.J., Deschner, T., Dieguez, P. ,Dierks, K., Dilambaka, E., Dowd, D., Dunn, A., Ebot Egbe, V., Finckh, M., Fruth, B., Gijanto, L., Ginath Yuh, Y., Goedmakers, A., Gokee , C., Gomes Coelho, R., Goodman, A.H., Granjon, A-C., Grimes, V., Grueter, C.C., Haour, A., Hedwig, D., Hermans, V., Hernandez-Aguilar, R.A., Hohmann, G., Imong, I. ,Jeffery, K., Jones, S., Junker, J., Kadam, P., Kambere, M., Kambi, M., Kienast, I., Knudson, K.J., Langergraber, K.E., Lapeyre, V., Lapuente, J., Larson, B., Lautenschlaeger, T., le Roux, P., Leinert, V., Llana, M., Logan, A., Lowry, B., Lüdecke, T., Maretti, G., Marrocoli, S., Martín, R., McNeill, P.J., Meier, A.C., Meller, P., Monroe, J.C., Morgan, D., Mulindahabi, F., Murai, M., Neil, E., Nicholl, S., Niyigaba, P., Normand, E., Ormsby, L.J., Orume, R., Pacheco, L., Piel, A., Preece, J., Regnaut, S., Richard, F.G., Richards, M.P., Rundus, A., Sanz, C., Sommer, V.. Sponheimer, M., Steele, T.E.,. Stewart, F.A.. Tagg, N.. Tédonzong, L, Tickle, A., Toubga, L., van Schijndel, J., Vergnes, V., Wangue Njomen, N., Wessling, E.G., Willie, J., Wittig, R.M., Yurkiw, K., Zipkin, A.M., Zuberbühler, K., Arandjelovic, M., Kühl, H.S., Boesch, C., Oelze, V.M. (in preperation). The first draft of a Pan African strontium isoscape with implications for historic and wildlife forensics. Manuscipt in preparation for submission to Nature, January 2023

Zihua Tang, Xueye Wang, Dong Wei, Kangkang Li, Qiaomei Fu, Chao Ning, Xingjun Hu, Wenying Li, Idilisi Abuduresule, Xiaoguang Qin, Yinqiu Cui, Shiling Yang, Vicky M. Oelze, Robert N. Spengler, Patrick Roberts (submitted) Isotopic evidence for dynamic adaptations to climate change and desertification in the Bronze Age Tarim Mummies of Xiaohe. PNAS

Lee G-A., Lowry B., Oelze V.M. (in prep.): Stable isotope, radiocarbon and archaeobotanical evidence for several millennia of continuity in farming practices at the site of Pyeonggeodong, South Korea.

Bocksberger G., Schulz-Kornas E., van Casteren A., Dieguez P., Agbor A., Deschner T., Goedmakers A., Granjon A-C., Kadam P., Kambi M., Leinert V., Meier A.C., Lapuente J., Piel A., Van Schijndel J., Sommer V., Stewart F., Ton E., Wittig R.M., Krüger S., Kupczik K., Arandjelovic M., Boesch C., Kühl H.S., Oelze V.M. (in prep.): Dental paleoproxies in extant chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) relate to climate and vegetation characteristics across tropical Africa.

Fulminante F., Müller Schessel N., Salesse S., Tsutaya T., Miller K., Alt K.W. , Meller H., Nicklisch N., Oelze V.M. (in prep.) Correlating refined breastfeeding duration times and expectancy of life at birth: an exploratory study using the MEDA-Breast dataset from IsoArcH.

2022

Oelze V.M., O’Neil I., Wittig R. M., Kupczik K., Schulz-Kornas E., Hohmann G. (2022): A skew in poo: Biases in primate fecal isotope analysis and recommendations for standardized sample preparation. American Journal of Primatology, e23436. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajp.23436

Nicklisch N., Oelze V.M., Schierz O., Meller H., Alt K.W. (2022): A healthier smile in the past? Dental health and diet in Early Neolithic farmer communities from Central Germany. Nutrients. 14(9), 1831. https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/14/9/1831

D’Ammando G., Caro, T., Oelze V.M., Phillips S., Sime P., Stewart F.A., Piel A.K. (2022): Ecological drivers of habitat use by small mammals in a miombo ecosystem. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 10, https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2022.773568

Washburn E., Ibarra B., Titelbaum A.R., Fehren-Schmitz L., Nesbitt J., Oelze V.M. (2022): A multi-isotope approach reconstructing human residential mobility and diet during the Late Intermediate Period (AD 1000-1450) in highland Ancash, Peru. Journal of Archaeological Science - Reports 41, 103291 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352409X21005034?dgcid=coauthor

2021

Lowry, B.E., Wittig, R.M., Pittermann J., Oelze, V.M. (2021): Stratigraphy of stable isotope ratios and leaf structure within a tropical rainforest canopy in West Africa: Implications for primate feeding and isotope ecology. Scientific Reports 11, 14222. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-93589-8

Boucher R.D., Alavi S.E., De Jong H.N., Godfrey L. V., Vogel E.R. (2021): Copper (Cu) and iron (Fe) stable isotope evidence as an indicator of sex in mature rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta). American Journal of Physical Anthropology. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ajpa.24301

Washburn E., Nesbitt J., Ibarra B., Fehren-Schmitz L., Oelze V.M. (2021): A strontium isoscape for the Callejon de Conchucos region of highland Peru and its application to Andean archaeology. PLoS ONE 16(3): e0248209. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0248209

Phillips S., Scheffrahn R.H., Piel A., Stewart F., Agbor A., Brazzola G., Tickle A., Sommer V., Dieguez P., G. Wessling E.G., Arandjelovic M., Kühl H., Boesch C., Oelze V.M. (2021): Limited evidence of C₄ plant consumption in mound building Macrotermes termites from savanna woodland chimpanzee sites. PlosOne. PLoS ONE 16(2): e0244685. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0244685

2020

Oelze, V. M., Wittig R.M., Lemoine S., Kuehl H.S., Boesch C. (2020): How isotopic signatures relate to meat consumption in wild chimpanzees: A critical reference study from Taï National Park, Côte d’Ivoire. Journal of Human Evolution 146, 102817

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0047248420300786

Oelze, V. M., Percher A., Nsi Akoué G. , El Ksabi N., Willaume E. , Charpentier M.J.E. (2020): Seasonality and inter-individual variation in mandrill feeding ecology revealed by stable isotope analyses of hair and blood. American Journal of Primatology 82 (12), https://doi.org/10.1002/ajp.23206

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ajp.23206

Washburn, E., Tomasto E., Nesbitt J., Burger R, Oelze V.M., Fehren-Schmitz L (2020): Carbon and nitrogen isotopic evidence of diet among individuals interred at the Late Preceramic Period/Initial Period Site of La Galgada, Peru. Journal of Archaeological Science- Reports 31, 102309

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352409X20301000

2019

Wessling E.G., Oelze V.M., Eshuis H., Pruetz J.D., Kühl H.S. (2019): Stable isotope variation in savanna chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) indicate avoidance of energetic challenges through dietary compensation at the limits of the range. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 168 (4), 665-675. DOI:10.1002/ajpa.23782

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ajpa.23782

2018

van Casteren A., Oelze, V.M., Angedakin S., Kalan A.K., Kambi M., Boesch C., Kuehl H.S., Langergraber K.E., Piel A.K., Stewart F.A., Kupczik K. (2018): Food mechanical properties and isotopic signatures in forest versus savannah dwelling eastern chimpanzees. Communications Biology 1 (1), #109

https://www.nature.com/articles/s42003-018-0115-6

Muenster A., Knipper C., Oelze V.M., Nicklisch N., Stecher M., Schlenker B., Ganslmeier R., Fragata M., Friederich S., Dresely V., Hubensack V., Brandt G., Doehle J., Vach W., Schwarz R., Metzner-Nebelsick C., Meller H., Alt K.W. (2018): 4000 years of human dietary evolution in Central Germany, from the first farmers to the first elites. PlosOne. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0194862

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/comments?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0194862

2017

Scheffrahn, R.H., Bourguignon T., Bordereau C., Hernandez-Aguilar R.A., Oelze V.M., Dieguez P., Sobotnik, J., Pascual-Garrido, A. (2017): White-gutted soldiers: simplification of the digestive tube for a non-particulate diet in higher Old World termites (Isoptera: Termitidae). Insectes Sociaux,1-9.

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00040-017-0572-9

2016

Oelze, V. M., Fahy, G. E., Hohmann, G., Robbins, M. M., Leinert, V., Lee, K., Eshuis, H., Seiler, N., Wessling, E. G., Head, J. S., Boesch, C., & Kuehl, H. S. (2016). Comparative isotope ecology of African great apes. Journal of Human Evolution, 101, 1-16.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0047248416301300

Crowley, B., Reitsema, L., Oelze, V. M., & Sponheimer, M. (2016). Advances in primate stable isotope ecology-achievements and future prospects. American Journal of Primatology, 78(10), 995-1003.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/ajp.22510

Special Issue in the American Journal of Primatology, co-edited by Brooke E. Crowley, Laurie J. Reitsema, Vicky M. Oelze and Matt Sponheimer (2016): "Advances In Primate Stable Isotope Ecology"

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/10982345/78/10

Mundry, R., and Oelze, V. M. (2016). Who is who matters - the effects of pseudoreplication in stable isotope analysis. American Journal of Primatology, 78(10), 1017-1030.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ajp.22499

Oelze, V. M. (2016). Reconstructing temporal variation in great ape and other primate diets: A methodological framework for isotope analyses in hair. American Journal of Primatology, 78(10), 1004-1016.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ajp.22497

Oelze, V. M., Douglas, P. H., Stephens, C. R., Behringer, V., Surbeck, M., Richards, M. P., Fruth, B., & Hohmann, G. (2016). The steady state great ape? Long term isotopic records reveal the effects of season, social rank and reproductive status on bonobo feeding behaviour. PlosOne, 11(9): e0162091.

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0162091

2014

Oelze, V. M., Head, J. S., Robbins, M. M., Richards, M. P., & Boesch, C. (2014). Niche differentiation and dietary seasonality among sympatric gorillas and chimpanzees in Loango National Park (Gabon) revealed by stable isotope analysis. Journal of Human Evolution, 66(1), 95-106.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0047248413002418?via%3Dihub

Nehlich, O., Oelze, V. M., Jay, M., Conrad, M., Staeuble, H., Teegan, W.-R., & Richards, M. P. (2014). Sulphur isotope ratios of multi-period archaeological skeletal remains from central Germany: A dietary and mobility study. Anthropologie: international journal of the science of man, 52(1), 15-33.

http://puvodni.mzm.cz/Anthropologie/downloads/articles/2014/Nehlich_2014_p15-33.pdf

2012

Oelze, V. M., Nehlich, O., & Richards, M. P. (2012). "There's no place like home" - No isotopic evidence for mobility at the Early Bronze Age cemetery of Singen, Germany. Archaeometry, 54(4), 752-778.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1475-4754.2011.00644.x

Oelze, V. M., Koch, J. K., Kupke, K., Nehlich, O., Zaeuner, S., Wahl, J., Weise, S. M., Rieckhoff, S., & Richards, M. P. (2012). Multi-isotopic analysis reveals individual mobility and diet at the Early Iron Age Monumental Tumulus of Magdalenenberg, Germany. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 148(3), 406-421.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ajpa.22063

Deschner, T., Fuller, B. T., Oelze, V. M., Boesch, C., Hublin, J.-J., Mundry, R., Richards, M. P., Ortmann, S., & Hohmann, G. (2012). Identification of energy consumption and nutritional stress by isotopic and elemental analysis of urine in bonobos (Pan paniscus). Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry, 26(1), 69-77.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/rcm.5312

Oelze, V. (2012). Mobility and diet in Neolithic, Bronze Age and Iron Age Germany: evidence from multiple isotope analysis. PhD Thesis, Department of Human Origins, Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden Univ., Leiden.

https://openaccess.leidenuniv.nl/handle/1887/19045

2011

Oelze, V. M., Fuller, B. T., Richards, M. P., Fruth, B., Surbeck, M., Hublin, J.-J., & Hohmann, G. (2011). Exploring the contribution and significance of animal protein in the diet of bonobos by stable isotope ratio analysis of hair. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 108(24), 9792-9797.

http://www.pnas.org/content/108/24/9792

Oelze, V. M., Siebert, A., Nicklisch, N., Meller, H., Dresely, V., & Alt, K. W. (2011). Early Neolithic diet and animal husbandry: stable isotope evidence from three Linearbandkeramik (LBK) sites in Central Germany. Journal of Archaeological Science, 38(2), 270-279.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305440310003109

COLLABORATIONS

meet our collaborators and their projects

Greater Mahale Ecosystem Research and Conservation (GMERC)
(formerly Ugalla Primate Project)

http://gmerc.org/

We are collaborating with GMERC on numerous projects on chimpanzee termite fishing behavior, termite ecology and camera trap data. The GMERC project is located in the savanna/Miombo woodland landscape of the Issa Valley in Tanzania, East Africa. Research at GMERC focuses on the behavior, ecology, and conservation of the wildlife and especially primates that live across the Greater Mahale Ecosystem.

Taï Chimpanzee Project (TCP)

https://www.eva.mpg.de/primat/research-groups/chimpanzees/field-sites/tai-chimpanzee-project.html?Fsize=0%252C%20%40%2FHopfe

Since 2015, Vicky Oelze is collaborating with TCP on the stable isotope ecology of the Taï chimpanzees and Taï forest. Our main interest is the relationship between meat eating behavior in the Taï chimpanzees and the stable isotope ratios (C, N, Zn) of hair and skeletal tissues (enamel, bone), but also the exploration of novel stable isotope systems such as Fe and Cu. The Taï Chimpanzee Project is located in Côte d’Ivoire, West Africa, and has been established about 40 years ago by Christophe and Hedwige Boesch. Today the project is co-directed by Roman Wittig and Catherine Crockford and is following three habituated neighboring communities of chimpanzees.

LuiKotale Bonobo Project

https://www.eva.mpg.de/primat/research-groups/bonobos/luikotale-study-site.html?Fsize=0%252C%20%40%2F%27A%3D0

Since 2009, Vicky Oelze is collaborating with Gottfried Hohmann and Barbara Fruth on the isotope ecology of the LuiKotale bonobos. This collaboration is still ongoing with a current project on bonobo infant weaning behavior. The site, with today 2 habituated bonobo groups and another under habituation, is located close to the Western border of Salonga National Park in DRC, which belongs to the largest remaining forest blocks in Africa.

UCSC Isotope Facilities

We measure our stable isotope samples on the UCSC campus either in the Stable Isotope Lab (C, N, S, O)

https://sites.google.com/ucsc.edu/sil

or in the Keck Lab (Sr)

https://eps.ucsc.edu/research/facilities/keck-lab-profile.html

Emergent Treeworks

http://www.emergenttreeworks.com/

Research on the ecology of living primates can get a very different perspective if one is high up in the trees. Trust us, it's a fact! Will Koomjian, certified arborist, tree climber, and undisputed tree nerd, instructs and assists researchers worldwide in accessing the crowns of the canopy for their projects. Will worked with Vicky in Taï National Park in 2015. In the field season of 2017, Vicky worked with another stellar arborist, the late James Luce who passed away in summer 2020 and is dearly missed. The publication Lowry et al. (2021) is dedicated to James. (https://www.arborcanada.com/instructors/Luce-James/)

teaching

Classes in and around the lab

ANTH110F
Evolution of Human Diet

fall quarters of 2017, 2018, 2020, 2022, summer session 2021

This lecture discusses the evolution of human diet and subsistence from a biological anthropological perspective, including evidence on past human behaviors revealed by paleoanthropology, archaeology, archaeometry, primatology, genetics and osteology. It will introduce the students to the main hypothesis related to the evolution of dietary behavior from our early ancestors up to the transition to agriculture and animal husbandry, from man the hunted - to man the hunter - to man the cook – to man the farmer.

ANTH 106
Primate Behavior & Ecology

spring quarters of 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022

This lecture covers the fundamentals of the ecology, behavior and evolution of non-human primates, and how to study these in the wild. The topics encompassed include the human perception of primates, primate life history, feeding ecology, socioecology, concepts of group living and social behavior, communication, endocrinology, mating systems and kin selection. Moreover the course will focus on great apes, their societies, culture and cognition.

ANTH 107B
Stable Isotope Ecology

spring quarters of 2018, 2019, 2021, summer session 2019, scheduled for winter 2023!

This combination of lectures and now also hands-on lab experiences (sample collection, sample prep, collagen extraction) provides students with a comprehensive overview of stable isotope research in fossil hominoids, prehistoric human populations and non-human primates. We discover the wide application of isotopic research in biological anthropology, bioarcheology, primatology, forensics and wildlife ecology.

ANTH 106A-C
Chimpanzee Behavior & Culture

continuous

This course on chimpanzee behavioral diversity will provide students with in depth understanding of the study of chimpanzee behavior from direct observations and camera trap footage. Students gain hands-on experience with the deployment and maintenance of our own trail cameras in the UCSC upper camps forest. Using free behavioral coding software (BORIS), we will also develop ethograms and analyze hundreds of videos of wild chimpanzees from Tanzania and assess their behavior.

ANTH Independent Study
Chimpanzee Video Coding Team

continuous

In this team project of up to 12 undergraduate students we code camera trap video footage from the Issa Valley in Tanzania, as savanna chimpanzee field site we are collaborating with via GMERC. Our task is to go through the video material, identify animal species and their behaviors, and entering the information into excel. We intensively discuss the identification of age, sex and individuals in chimpanzees. We meet at least once per week and discuss our progress and problems, and share our video highlights with each other. Actively participating student can obtain credits for 2-5 units (independent study).

It’s all in your head. Credit: Tumblr via Pia Hollund

ANTH 103
Forensic Anthropology & Bioarchaeology

spring 2017

This hands-on lab class introduces students to the classic bioanthropological methods to determine age, sex, ancestry, body stature and health in human skeletal remains, such as modern forensic cases or archaeologically recovered material.

ANTH 294
Advanced Readings in Biological Anthropology

tba

This class is a small discussion round of PIs, grad students and postdocs that focuses on key research articles in our discipline. Advanced readings are novel or seminal journal articles suggested by the instructor or the participating graduate students. These papers will be relevant to biological anthropology in general, archaeological sciences or human evolution and we will particularly focus on articles employing isotope biogeochemistry and ancient DNA analytics. We will read, summarize and critically discuss research articles and rotate with the responsibilities of presenting the key findings of each article.