Friday 27 June 2014

Caveman poo suggests they may have eaten vegetables

Scientists studying Neanderthal poo say that our prehistoric ancestors ate far more vegetables than had been thought.


Who were the Neanderthals?

  • Their ancestors left Africa 400,000 years ago
  • They travelled to Europe and Asia where they evolved into Neanderthals
  • They went extinct 30,000 years ago
Actors portraying Neanderthals from Andrew Marr's History of the World
Researchers examined ancient specimens of poo, from people who lived in part of southern Spain 50,000 years ago.
They found that while all the samples contained traces of meat, but two showed signs of plant matter, suggesting they ate their veg too.
The study's authors say the results will help us understand how humans have come to dominate the planet.
By doing detailed tests on the ancient poo, the team found that while meat was the main part of Neanderthals' diet, they may have also consumed a fairly regular portion of plants, such as tubers, berries, and nuts.
"We believe Neanderthals probably ate what was available in different situations, seasons, and climates," says Ainara Sistiaga, from the University of La Laguna in Spain, who worked on the study with colleagues from MIT in America.
Traces in the teeth
This latest finding comes after the recent discovery of plant microfossils trapped in Neanderthal teeth - which some thought might suggest fruit and veg in their diet.
But Ainara's more cautious about the teeth evidence: "Sometimes in prehistoric societies, they used their teeth as tools, biting plants, among other things.
Neanderthal artist's impression
"We can't assume they were actually eating the plants based on finding microfossils in their teeth."
The traces this study found in the poo, suggest the first direct evidence for a more varied diet for our cavemen ancestors.


The results of the study were published in the journal PLoS One.
From CBBC newsround



6 comments :

  1. Hey there, You've done a fantastic job. I'll definitely digg it and
    personally recommend to my friends. I am sure they'll be benefited from this web site.


    Feel free to surf to my weblog: little elm carpet

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi, jսst wɑnted tо saʏ, I liқed thius blog post.

    It was inspiring. Keеp on posting!

    ʟߋok ɑt mʏ site :: Home Advisor Peoples Products

    ReplyDelete
  3. I every time emailed tɦis weblog post ƿage to all my contacts, since if like
    tо rea it net mʏ contactts will too.

    Check οut mу webpage: Peoples Products

    ReplyDelete
  4. Informative article, just what I wanted to find.


    My website; dating sites (bestdatingsitesnow.com)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hello, everything is going nicely here and ofcourse
    every one is sharing facts, that's genuinely good, keep up writing.


    Also visit my homepage My Blog - imperfectinterm63.sosblogs.com -

    ReplyDelete
  6. Spot onn witɦ this write-up, I really believe tҺat this
    site needss a great deal moree attention. I'll ρrobably Ƅe returning
    tօ see mօrе, thanks for the advice!

    Also visit mу web page: Yola

    ReplyDelete

Leave your comment here. Thank you!