Ancient humans consumed giant snails as part of their diet.

Humans have been hunting and consuming giant African land snails for food for at least 100,000 years, according to a study led by the University of the Witwatersrand. The snails were brought to the Border Cave site in eastern South Africa, roasted and consumed, and fragments of their shells were found across most of the history of the cave. Snails are an excellent source of nutrients, easy to hunt, and could have been stored alive in the cave for some time before being consumed, but they are safest to eat when cooked. The study offers a detailed examination of diet and social behavior from the fragments of land snail shells found at the site.