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Ancient hunter-gatherers relied heavily on plant foods, particularly starchy plants, as a major energy source contrary to the popular belief that ancient human “paleo” diets were mainly meat-based.
The research, published in the journal PNAS, found that human ancestors did not rely solely on animal protein, but consumed a diverse range of plant-based foods, including acorns, cereals, legumes, and aquatic plants.
In the study, Israeli scientists assessed starch grains approximately 780,000 years old, uncovered at a settlement located on the shores of the ancient Hula Lake.
Excavations unearthed over 20 layers of settlement, fossilised animal remains, and plant remnants such as seeds and fruits.
Scientists found starch grains on ancient basalt maces and anvils used by ancient human ancestors to crack and crush plant foods.
The ability to widely use such tools also offers insights into the social and cognitive behaviours of early humans.
“This discovery underscores the importance of plant foods in the evolution of our ancestors,” study co-author Hadar Ahituv said.
The findings contradict the prevailing narrative that ancient human diets were mainly meat-based as suggested by the popular “paleo” diet. Many of these diets, researchers say, are based on finding large numbers of animal remains in archaeological sites, with plant-based foods rarely preserved.
The new findings of starch grains on ancient tools offer evidence of the key role plants, particularly starchy tubers, nuts, and roots rich in carbohydrates, played in meeting the energy demands of the human brain.
They also reveal the sophisticated methods early humans used to process plant materials.
Scientists found that early humans living in this region used basalt maces and anvils to prepare a variety of plants, including acorns, cereals, legumes, and aquatic plants such as the yellow water lily and the now locally-extinct water chestnut.
“We now understand that early hominids gathered a wide variety of plants year-round, which they processed using tools made from basalt,” Dr Ahituv said.
“This discovery opens a new chapter in the study of early human diets and their profound connection to plant-based foods,” he said.
Researchers suspect the ability of early humans to process plants using tools could be indicative of a high level of cooperation and social structure.
The diverse range of plant resources utilised by these ancient ancestors from both aquatic and terrestrial environments shows a deep knowledge of their surroundings similar to modern-day humans today, scientists say.
“Our results further confirm the importance of plant foods in our evolutionary history and highlight the development of complex food-related behaviours,” they write.
