New Study Of Bones And Teeth Finds Cavemen Were Mostly Plant-Based

A new study analyzing bones and teeth from Paleolithic hunter-gatherers in Morocco has found that plants, not meat, were the main source of protein in their diets. Despite popular beliefs about a meat-heavy “caveman” diet, the evidence suggests that early humans consumed a variety of wild plants between 13,000 and 15,000 years ago. While traces of animal butchery were also found, the study shows that plants played a larger role in their diets than previously thought.

This challenges the prevailing notion that early human groups heavily relied on animal proteins. The belief in a meat-centric diet was supported by the fact that plant remains do not preserve as well as animal bones, leading to bias in previous analyses. Other studies have also found that hunter-gatherer groups, such as those in the Peruvian Andes, relied heavily on root vegetables like wild potatoes, further highlighting the importance of plant-based foods in our ancestors' diets.