Scientists have recently uncovered food remnants that provide interesting insights into the diets of early ancestors.
As per Newsweek, the study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences revealed that early human ancestors, known as hominins, who lived in what is now Israel, likely ate a variety of plant-based foods.
These foods were starchy and included things like acorns, cereals, legumes (such as beans and peas) and aquatic plants.
Animal based foods have traditionally been the focus of research, while plant foods have not been given much attention as they are harder to find in archaeological digs.
In a recent study, researchers found small particles of starch from various plant sources on basalt tools at the Gesher Benot Ya’aqov archaeological site in Israel.
Starch grains are tiny particles of starch produced by plants, which can survive in soil, sediment or on ancient tools and artefacts.
These starch grains are valuable in archeology as they provide direct evidence of how early human used plants.
Starch grains found on the tools came from a variety of plants, such as grass seeds, water chestnuts, yellow water lily roots and legume seeds. These plants are rich in carbohydrates.
Therefore, the starch-rich tubers, nuts and roots would have been an important source of energy for early humans who ate them.
