A Rough Diet from Human Predecessors 800,000 Years Ago
Credit: Asociación RUVID
Before this research, the diet of the hominines of the Lower Pleistocene of Atapuerca (Burgos, Spain), our most remote European ancestors, had been inferred from animal remains –a great variety of large mammals and even turtles– found in the same levels in which the human remains were found. Evidence of cannibalism has also been suggested in some of these fossils. Evidence of cannibalism has also been suggested in some of these fossils.
Food that leaves a mark on the enamel
The study is based on the analysis of the buccal microwear pattern of the fossils from Trinchera Elefante and Gran Dolina in the Atapuerca site. The examined microwear features are small marks on the buccal teeth enamel surface , whose density and length depend on the types of chewed food.
In the new study, the Atapuerca fossils have been compared with samples from other Lower Pleistocene populations: with fossils of the African Homo ergaster, ancestors of all Europeans dated from 1.8 million years ago; and also with Homo heidelbergensis, which appeared more than 500,000 years ago in Europe and lasted until at least 200,000 years ago, and finally with Homo neanderthalensis specimens from the Iberian Peninsula that lived between 200,000 and 40,000 years ago.
Higher striation densities in ‘Homo antecessor’
The results of the study show that the teeth of H. antecessor show higher striation densities than the rest of the analyzed species. “Our findings do not allow us to say exactly what foods they ate, since the abrasive materials that cause the marks on the teeth may have different origins, but they do allow us to point out that H. antecessor would have had a diet largely based on hard and abrasive foods, such as plants containing phytoliths (which are silica particles produced by plants that are as hard as enamel), tubers with traces of soil particles, collagen or connective tissue and bone or raw meat”, researcher said.
Credit: Asociación RUVID
A more primitive lithic industry
This pattern of great abrasiveness, observed on the enamel teeth surfaces in Gran Dolina contrasts with what has been observed in the compared species in the study. “Unlike H. neanderthalensis, which had a more advanced lithic industry (called Mode 3 or Mousterian), the tools that have been found related to ‘Homo antecessor’ are primitive (Mode 1). These industries would not facilitate food processing, as also suggested by evidence that they used teeth to chew bones. Also, the lack of evidence of the use of fire in Atapuerca suggests that they would surely eat everything raw, causing more dental waste, including plant foods, meat, tendons or skin.
For the researchers, a diet with a high meat consumption could have evolutionary implications. “Meat in the diet could have contributed to gain the necessary energy to sustain a large brain like that of H. antecessor, with a volume of approximately 1,000 cubic centimeters, compared to the 764 of the H. ergaster, but it would also represent a significant source of food in a highly demanding environment where preferred foods, such as ripe fruits and tender vegetables, would vary seasonally”, as the researcher added.
The research contributes significantly to the better understanding of the dietary adaptations of our ancestors and highlights the importance of the ecological and cultural factors that have conditioned our biological evolution.
Citation: A. Pérez-Pérez, M. Lozano, A. Romero, L. M. Martínez, J. Galbany, B. Pinilla, F. Estebaranz-Sánchez, J. M. Bermúdez de Castro, E. Carbonell and J. L. Arsuaga. «The diet of the first Europeans from Atapuerca». Scientific Reports, February 2017.
Source: http://www.ineffableisland.com/2017/06/a-rough-diet-from-human-predecessors.html
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