A group of researchers took a dive into the history of our ancestors and closest ancient human relatives by looking at the bacteria that lived in their mouths and found interesting similarities with modern humans while observing key differences with ape species such as gorillas and chimpanzees.
It turns out that the diet of our distant ancestors probably consisted of a lot of starchy foods some 600,000 years ago. Starch contains tons of carbs which are required to develop a larger brain.
Neanderthals and our ancient ancestors ate more starchy foods than previously thought - Image Credit: Gorodenkoff via Shutterstock / HDR tune by Universal-Sci
A group of scientists investigated over 100 dental biofilm metagenomes originating from humans, including Neanderthals and Late Pleistocene, to present-day modern humans, gorillas, and chimpanzees, together with New World howler monkeys for the sake of comparison.
The study demonstrated that the microbial profiles of Neanderthals and modern humans are substantially comparable, with functional changes in food metabolism
Reconstructing oral metagenomes from up to 100 thousand years ago, we show that the microbial profiles of both Neanderthals and modern humans are highly similar, sharing functional adaptations in nutrient metabolism.
Neanderthals probably weren't the savage carnivores they are often portrayed as. More than half a million years ago, they not only ate a lot of nuts, roots, and other starchy foods, they also cooked them. The adaptation to this type of food probably dates from long before the agricultural revolution of some 10,000 years ago.
In addition to meat, our ancestors also ate various starchy foots such as nuts and roots - Image Credit: Andrew Fletcher via Shutterstock / HDR tune by Universal-Sci
The fact that the human brain has grown so strongly in the last few million years is often attributed to better tools (weapons) and the onset of group hunting. The idea was that improved hunting techniques allowed them to consume more and more meat providing a lot of energy for the body.
The problem with that theory is that the brain needs glucose to grow strongly, and meat is not a good source of this type of sugar. Starchy plants are a much better source of glucose. A group of scientists, therefore, examined prehistoric teeth, hoping to find clues to the diet of our ancestors.
The researchers found a type of bacteria called streptococci on the teeth of neanderthals as well as on the teeth of our ancient human ancestors an indication that both species inherited them from their ancestors who lived more than 600,000 years ago. Streppoccoli bind to the enzyme amylase, which extracts sugars from starch. The presence of streptococci is therefore a sign that starchy foods were already on the menu at the time. In addition to the teeth of Neanderthals, these bacteria are also found on the teeth of modern humans, an indication that both species inherited them from their ancestors who lived more than 600,000 years ago.
Harvard University evolutionary biologist Rachel Carmody, who herself was not involved in the study, describes the research as "groundbreaking." It does not only mean that humans have been eating starchy food for much longer than we previously thought, but it probably also means that humans have been cooking their food for a long time. The enzyme amylase can digest starch much better when it is cooked.
If you are interested in a more detailed description of the study, be sure to check out the paper published in PNAS listed below
If you enjoyed this article you may also like:
Sources and further reading:
Too busy to follow science news during the week?
Consider subscribing to our (free) newsletter - (Universal-Sci Weekly) - and get the 5 most interesting science articles of the week in your inbox
FEATURED ARTICLES:
