A new study in the journal
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences says there’s evidence Neanderthals loved carbs as much as they did eating animal flesh. The evidence comes from bacteria on Neanderthals’ teeth, which would’ve developed to consume sugars from the foods the extinct subspecies of human ate. Which, incidentally, would’ve helped their brains grow faster than they would have otherwise.
Science News reported on the new study, which aimed to better understand the evolution of the human oral microbiome. The team of authors analyzed 124 biofilms of teeth; from both Neanderthals and Late Pleistocene to present-day humans. As well as chimpanzees, gorillas, and howler monkeys.
Neanderthals carb loaded, helping grow their big brains
May. 10, 2021 , 3:00 PM
Here’s another blow to the popular image of Neanderthals as brutish meat eaters: A new study of bacteria collected from Neanderthal teeth shows that our close cousins ate so many roots, nuts, or other starchy foods that they dramatically altered the type of bacteria in their mouths. The finding suggests our ancestors had adapted to eating lots of starch by at least 600,000 years ago about the same time as they needed more sugars to fuel a big expansion of their brains.
The study is “groundbreaking,” says Harvard University evolutionary biologist Rachel Carmody, who was not part of the research. The work suggests the ancestors of both humans and Neanderthals were cooking lots of starchy foods at least 600,000 years ago. And they had already adapted to eating more starchy plants long before the invention of agriculture 10,000 years ago, she says.