New research published in the scientific journal Science has shed light on the diet of human ancestors like Australopithecus. Scientists analyzed nitrogen isotope isotopes in fossilized tooth enamel from seven individuals found in southern Africa and concluded that these early hominins primarily relied on plant-based diets with little to no evidence of meat consumption.
According to geochemist Tina Lüdecke, lead author of the study, “Tooth enamel is the hardest tissue of the mammalian body and can preserve the isotopic fingerprint of an animal’s diet for millions of years.” The researchers compared the isotopic data from Australopithecus with that from coexisting animals and found that the hominins had a lower nitrogen isotope ratio similar to herbivores, indicating a plant-based diet.
The study provides evidence that human ancestors did not regularly hunt large mammals like Neanderthals. While the researchers cannot completely rule out occasional consumption of animal protein sources, the data suggests a predominantly vegetarian diet.
The research team plans to expand their study by collecting more data from different hominin species and time periods. They aim to examine fossils from other key sites in eastern and southern Africa as well as southeast Asia to explore when meat consumption began and how it evolved.
This novel method of analyzing nitrogen isotope ratios in fossilized tooth enamel has the potential to answer crucial questions about human evolution, such as when our ancestors began to incorporate meat into their diet and whether this was linked to an increase in brain volume.
Source: https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1070872