Secrets of mankind: How much meat did our ancestors eat?

Secrets of mankind: How much meat did our ancestors eat?

A research team at the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry in Mainz and the Witwatersrand University in Johannesburg examined the nutrition of the ancestors of humans. The aim of this comprehensive investigation was to find out when our ancestors ate meat and what role it played in their diet. The scientists used an innovative tooth analysis that enables them to draw conclusions about the nutrition of these early humans through chemical signatures in the organic part of the teeth. This analysis is carried out by drilling into the tooth enamel to examine amino acids, which granted deeper insights into the dietary preferences of Australopithecus art.

The results show that Australopithecus was mostly vegetarian, with minimal meat consumption. The tooth analyzes come from fossil finds in southeastern Africa, which are dated 3.3 to 3.7 million years. In a comparison with fossil dental samples of carnivors such as hyenas and saber tooth cats, there were clear differences. Numerous debates in the professional world show different views of the meat consumption of the ancestors: Some scientists believe that meat was consumed 3.5 million years ago, while others only consider this to be likely for the ancestors of the Homo genus about two million years ago. This raises questions about the role of meat in the development of human brain and evolutionary adaptation.

research results and isotope analysis

The researchers under the direction of Tina Lüdecke analyzed tooth melt samples from seven Australopithecus copies. The nitrogen isotope measurement resulted in a low ratio of severe to light nitrogen isotopes. This indicates that the diet of these ancestors was mainly vegetable, although occasional animal proteins such as eggs or termites cannot be excluded. However, the exact mass of meat consumption and its importance for evolutionary development remains unclear.

The methodology for nitrogen isotope determination in tooth enamel represents significant progress in paleontological research. Interestingly, the nitrogen isotope relationship lasts millions of years and thus offers a detailed isotopic fingerprint of food. Higher isotope conditions would usually indicate a higher position in the food chain, which was not the case with the examined specimens.

future research perspectives

The researchers plan to carry out further analyzes in Africa in the future in order to examine additional teeth and to prove the time of meat consumption more precisely. These studies are supported by the Emmy Noether program of the German Research Foundation (DFG). The results of the current study offer a new perspective on the diet of our ancestors and point out that the transition to an omnivor diet may have taken place later in human evolution.

Continuous research in this area could help to better understand the complex relationships between nutrition, environment and development of humans. The role of energy -consuming food and the use of fire in nutrition remains an important point for future studies.

As the results show, the dietary past of people is a multifaceted and not yet fully researched topic that raises many exciting questions. The research teams continue their work to bring light into the dark corners of human evolution. The discussion about meat consumption and its effects on the development of human brain remains a central question.

For further information on the examinations of the nutrition of the ancestors of humans, you can report the reports of and Myscience.de