Raw Plants And Meat, Staple Food Of Earliest Humans In Europe, Study Reveals

Raw food seems to have been the staple diet of the earliest humans 1.2 million years ago in Europe, a recent study by scientists at the University of York has revealed.

Earliest humans who lived in Sima del Elefante, Atapuerca in Spain did not cook their meat and plants. They preferred to eat them raw. Analysis of dental plaque from the remains of a 1.2-million-year-old Hominin in Sima del Elefante by scientists as part of the study revealed some startling insights on evolution, food habits and human growth.

Along with the proof about the eating habits of early humans, scientists found that early humans consumed plant fibers, meat and starchy carbohydrates.

The analysis revealed that even after the passage of a million years, fibers and starch granules were intact and not damaged. Archaeologists also discovered animal tissues, fibers from plants and a part of an insect's limb. They also found parts of edible wood. This is believed to be from a consistent pattern of dental hygiene, where the early humans must have used wood to maintain oral hygiene.

However, there was no evidence of the food being cooked as it had not been exposed to fire. There was no proof of micro charcoal inhalation, Mobipicker reveals.

This means the food was consumed raw and there was no evidence of starch granules being processed. 

Karen Hardy, author of the study said that there were changes in the size of the human brain around 800,000 years ago. This was about the same time that humans began to use fire to cook their food, CBS reports.

"Grasses produce abundant seeds in a compact head, which may be conveniently chewed especially before the seeds mature fully, dry out and scatter," lead researcher Karen Hardy said.

"Our evidence for the consumption of at least two different starchy plants, in addition to the direct evidence for consumption of meat and plant-based raw materials, suggests that this very early European hominin population had a detailed understanding of its surroundings and a broad diet," Hardy further said.