Ancient Humans Ate Plants Too: The Real Paleolithic Diet Revealed
New research synthesizes fossil and genetic evidence showing early Homo sapiens, Neanderthals, and Denisovans ate a diverse, plant-inclusive diet in addition to meat. Plant remains at sites, evidence of processing, and early duplication of the AMY1 gene for starch digestion support a Broad Spectrum Species Hypothesis, challenging the long-held view that Paleolithic humans were hypercarnivores and reinforcing that our ancestors were flexitarians long before agriculture.