According to a study of the diets of Pleistocene ancestors, Paleolithic food was not healthy.
For over 2 million years. Homo sapiensTheir ancestors gave up the salad for meat and ranked them high in the food chain.
It’s not as balanced as the diet of steak, grains, and berries that you might imagine when you think of paleo food.
According to an anthropologists study done last year at Tel Aviv University in Israel and the University of Minho, Portugal, modern hunters-gatherers give a false impression of what they once ate.
“This comparison is futile, however, because 2 million years ago hunter-gatherer societies could hunt and consume elephants and other large animals – while today’s hunter gatherers do not have access to such bounty,” researcher Miki Ben‐Dor from Israel’s Tel Aviv University 2021..
A look through hundreds of previous studies – on everything from modern human anatomy and physiology to measures of the isotopes inside ancient human bones and teeth – suggests we were primarily apex predators until roughly 12,000 years ago.
The fact that plant remains aren’t as well preserved as animal bones, teeth and shells makes it difficult to reconstruct the grocery list for hominids who lived 2.5 million years ago is even more challenging.
Another method used chemical analysis to determine the strength of tooth enamel and bones. Localized examplesHeavy in plant material. Extrapolating this to the human race is difficult.
Although there is plenty of evidence for game hunting in the fossil record we can still find it. Anthropologists have always relied on modern-day ethnography to confirm what they found.
According to Ben Dor and his colleagues, it is a major mistake.
“The ecosystem has changed dramatically and it is impossible to compare the conditions.” Ben‐Dor.
The Pleistocene EpochIt was a crucial time in Earth’s history. At the end, we were moving our way into The far corners of the worldOutliving All other hominidson the branch of our family tree.
Diagram showing where Homo sapiensDuring the Pleistocene, and Upper Pleistocene (UP), he sat on the spectrum from herbivore to carnivore. (Dr Miki Ben Dor)
The last great ice age dominated most of North America and Europe. It was characterized by thick glaciers that buried large swathes of North America and Europe.
The world’s ecosystems were very different from what they are today because there was so much water in the ground. Large beasts roamed the landscape, including mammoths, mastodons, and giant sloths – in far greater numbers than we see today.
It is no secret, of course, that Homo sapiensTheir ingenuity, endurance and creativity allowed them to track down the huge meals. The frequency with which they attacked these herbivores was not so obvious.
The researchers did not rely only on the fossil record or make tenuous connections with pre-agricultural societies. They looked to the evidence within our bodies and compared them with our closest relatives.
“We chose to use other methods in reconstructing the diet of stone-age human beings: to examine the memories preserved in our bodies, our metabolism and physical build.” Ben‐Dor.
“Human behavior is changing rapidly but evolution is slow.” The body retains memories.”
Our bodies consume more energy per unit of mass than any other primates. Particularly when it comes to our energy-hungry minds. The amount of time that we spend searching for food is also limited by our social life, such as when it involves raising children.
We have greater fat reserves and can quickly turn fats into ketones if we need them. Our fat cells are smaller than those of other omnivores. They are large and plentiful, which is similar to a predator.
Our digestive systems also look very similar to that of animals higher up in the food chain. Unusually strong stomach acid may be what we need to break down proteins and kill harmful bacteria.
Our genomes show a greater dependence on a high-protein diet than one that is low in sugar.
“For example geneticists concluded that certain areas of the human genome were shut off to allow a fat-rich diet. However, chimpanzees had areas of their genome open to allow a sugar-rich diet.” Ben‐Dor.
The argument of the team is complex, focusing on evidence in tool usage, trace element and nitrogen isotopes in Paleolithic remains and dental wear.
It all tells a story where our genus’ trophic level – Homo’s position in the food web – became highly carnivorous for us and our cousins, Homo erectusApproximately 2.5 million years ago. It remained the same way until the Paleolithic 11,700 years later.
The Neolithic Revolution of Agriculture and Farming culminated in more studies of modern hunter-gatherer societies.
All of this is not to say that we are. You should eat more meat. Our evolutionary past isn’t an instruction guideThe researchers stress that the research has an impact on our world and human health. It is not the same as it used to be.
Knowing where our ancestors were in the food web can have a huge impact on our understanding of everything, from our health and physiology to our influence on the environment in past times.
This research was published by the American Journal of Physical Anthropology.
This article was published in an earlier version in April 2021.
