Dietary Insights from Ancient Teeth
Analysis of nitrogen isotopes in tooth enamel shows these early hominins had a diet mainly consisting of plants, with little to no meat consumption.
This research, leveraging a novel technique to study ancient diets, challenges previous beliefs that early human ancestors consumed significant amounts of meat.
Implications for Human Evolution
The findings suggest that the transition to a meat-heavy diet, linked to brain development and tool use, occurred later than previously thought.
This study opens new avenues for understanding the dietary habits of other early human relatives and their role in human evolution.