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IMAGE: Ancient ostrich eggshells from Ysterfontein 1, a Middle Stone Age midden in South Africa. Shown are selected eggshells from the top layer of the midden dated by Uranium-Thorium (U-Th, or...
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Credit: Image courtesy of E. Niespolo.
Archeologists have learned a lot about our ancestors by rummaging through their garbage piles, which contain evidence of their diet and population levels as the local flora and fauna changed over time.
One common kitchen scrap in Africa -- shells of ostrich eggs -- is now helping unscramble the mystery of when these changes took place, providing a timeline for some of the earliest Homo sapiens who settled down to utilize marine food resources along the South African coast more than 100,000 years ago.