A groundbreaking study published in Science reveals that hominin ancestors adapted to their new diet of underground plant parts over 700,000 years after they started consuming grasses. This slow adaptation process highlights the concept of “behavioral drive,” where changes in behavior trigger physical changes.
The researchers used carbon and oxygen isotope analysis on hominins’ teeth to determine when they made this dietary shift around 3.8 million years ago, from fruits and flowers to grasses, and later to underground plant parts around 2.3 million years ago. The isotopes showed that the hominins had a significant advantage by exploiting these nutrient-rich foods year-round.
The study suggests that this adaptation was a key factor in their evolutionary success. Unlike other primates, hominins made the transition from above-ground grasses to underground plant parts, which provided them with a reliable food source and allowed for increased survival and development over time. This discovery highlights the importance of behavioral drive in shaping physical traits, and may hold the secret to human evolution’s unique advantage.
Source: https://indiandefencereview.com/eating-grasses-led-changes-ancestors-teeth