Among the examples of fossil teeth analyzed in this study, including 1) a macaque, 2) an extinct giant, a wild boar, 3) a wild boar, 4) a wild large-sized bovid, 5) a tiger, 6) a porcupine, 7) a Sumatran rhinoceros, 8) a dor and 10) an orangutan and 10) an orangutan and 10) an orangutan. and 10) an orangutan and 10) an orangutan and 10) an orangutan and 10) an orangutan and 10) an orangutan. Credit: Dr. Nicholas Borgon
A study published in Science advances And led by the Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, implements how resilience made the difference between survival and extinction. By analyzing fossilized teeth from Vietnam and Laos, an international team reconstructed the diets and habitats of extinct, extinct and still-living species.
The results showed that animals with different diets and habitats were more likely to tolerate, while narrow specialists largely disappeared.
The team examined 141 fossilized teeth from 150,000 to 13,000 years ago and matched them with existing records. Using stable isotope analysis of carbon, oxygen, nitrogen and zinc, they examined dietary responses to climate change.
“By analyzing chemical signatures in tooth enamel, we can piece together ancient diets and environments in remarkable detail.” “Comparing species over time reveals why some survived while others disappeared.”
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Dr. Nicolas Borgon (left) prepares samples for zinc isotope analysis, and Dr. Tina Ludeck (right) carefully adds liquid nitrogen to a beaker as part of a highly sensitive nitrogen isotope measurement. This innovative laboratory technique allows scientists to extract chemical signals preserved in fossil tooth enamel, providing unprecedented insight into the diet and environmental resilience of ancient mammals. Credit: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology and Max Planck Institute for Chemistry
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Archaeologists working deep inside the COC MUOI cave during a Vietnamese-French collaborative field expedition. Fossil teeth of Pleistocene mammals were recovered in the Roshan excavation area, later analyzed for their chemical signatures to reconstruct ancient diets and environments. Credit: Truong Hoo Ngai, Department of Anthropology and Paleo-Environment, Institute of Archeology of Vietnam
Animals such as sumber deer, macaques and wild boars proved to be adaptive, as reflected in the wide isotopic ranges. In contrast, specialists such as orangutans, tapirs and rhinos show narrow profiles associated with specific habitats. As the environment shifted, generalists endured while specialists were left vulnerable.
Orangutans, now restricted to Borneo and Sumatra, were once widespread in Southeast Asia. The isotope results show that they have continued to rely on fruits from closed Kupee forests, even during climate change.
“Although modern orangutans can turn to alternative foods during difficult times, their survival still depends on intact forests,” says co-author Dr. “This seems to have been true for tens of thousands of years.”
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A view of the limestone hill containing the COC MUOI cave, located near the Chinese border about 155 km northeast of Hanoi in Lang Son Province, Vietnam. The surrounding landscape is characterized by limestone hills and towering karsts. Since the 1960s, Langsoon has produced large fossil assemblages that are central to constructing a biochronology of the Middle to Late Pleistocene in the Indochinese region. Credit: Dr. Anne-Marie Bacon, Umar 8045 Babel, University Paris City, CNR, France
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The forest entrance to the COC MUOI cave is located 10 meters above the surrounding cultivated field. Hidden in the limestone hills of Vietnam’s Lang Son province, the cave preserves the fossil remains of Pleistocene mammals that provide important insights into how species have responded to past climate and environmental changes. Credit: Truong Hoo Ngai, Department of Anthropology and Paleo-Environment, Institute of Archeology of Vietnam
As Southeast Asia faces the fastest rate of tropical deforestation worldwide, lessons from the past are important.
“Species coping with ancient stressors helps predict their resilience today,” said senior author Professor Patrick Roberts of the Max Planck Institute. The study highlights the need to preserve not only the species, but the environmental conditions that sustain them.
“It’s more than just ancient animals,” Borgone added. “It’s about learning from the past to protect the future.”
More information:
Faunal persistence and environmental flexibility in Pleistocene Southeast Asia revealed by multi-isotope analysis. Science advances (2025) doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adu3642
Provided by the Max Planck Society
Reference: Ancient teeth reveal mammal response to climate change in Southeast Asia (2025, October 15)
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