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Dental microwear texture analysis (DMTA) was employed to discern ecological dietary differences between Neandertals from continental Europe and from the Mediterranean region of Southern Europe and the Near East. The study followed standard DMTA procedures to observe phase II wear facets on molar occlusal surfaces of 17 individuals. Neandertals included in the study were: Arcy-sur-Cure 1, Engis 2, Kebara 2, Kůlna 1, La Quina 5, Hortus III, Hortus IV, Hortus V, Hortus VI, Hortus VIII, Hortus XI, Montmaurin, Pech de l'Aze 1, Spy 1, Svedův stůl 1, Tabūn E2, and Tabūn Series III. The three texture variables, calculated using scale-sensitive fractal analysis software (Sfrax® and Toothfrax®), included complexity (Asfc), anisotropy (epLsar), and textural fill volume (Tfv). Results indicate that anisotropy produced a significant difference between the groups with Mediterranean Neandertals showing significantly higher anisotropy values than their Northern European counterparts. The Mediterranean values are consistent with previously published DMTA anisotropy values for the Krapina Neandertals and suggest that Neandertals in this region were exploiting fibrous, homogenous foods, such as roots, tubers, grasses, and sedges that required consistent jaw movements. Elevated anisotropy signatures observed in Mediterranean Neandertals across both time and space suggest similar subsistence strategies that coincide with the relative climatic stability of the region and increased amounts of edible plant resources.

Spy I from the Meuse River Basin of Belgium is among the most recent Neandertals. This adult lived at the terminus of Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 3 in cold steppe environments at the northern edge of the habitable zone for Neandertals where plants were relatively scarce. The dietary proclivities of Spy I are reconstructed using dental microwear texture analysis and compared to 33 Neandertals from western Eurasia, MIS 5 to MIS 3. Spy I has an elevated enamel surface complexity suggesting the consumption of course dietary items such as wild seeds, acorns, nuts, and underground storage organs laden with particles of grit. Unlike the young and old individuals from Hortus with low values for anisotropy, Spy I is closest to the adults from this site suggesting a common pattern of masticatory behavior typified this life cycle stage. Like many other Neandertals, Spy I probably consumed plant foods at appreciable levels, some of which were hard and brittle or poorly processed.

The dental microwear textures of six individuals from Hortus cave, France are compared to Neandertals from different ecological zones and time periods. Molar Phase II facets were scanned using white-light confocal microscopy and scale sensitive fractal analysis yielded enamel surface textural characteristics. The juvenile Hortus III and the older adult Hortus XI exhibit relatively low anisotropy (epLsar) and textural fill volume (Tfv) and are distinct from young adults with higher values. These differences may be related to age, such that only young adults were engaged in the mastication of tough, fibrous vegetation, whereas Hortus XI (50+ years) and Hortus III (6.5–7.9 years) did not. Sub-Phase Vb Hortus individuals exhibit reduced dietary hardness (Asfc) suggesting a greater reliance on soft foods, like meat. Differences between individuals from Hortus cave correspond to both sub-phase variation in climate and intrinsic lifeways.