Long before humans acquired an appetite for meat, one of our earliest hominin ancestors — Australopithecus — stuck to a vegetarian diet. The ancient hominin, living in eastern and southern Africa around 3.5 million years ago, ate primarily plant-based foods, according to a new study that analyzed their fossilized teeth.
The study, published in the journal Science, marks the latest chapter in the hunt to unearth the foundation of humans’ carnivorous tendencies. Scientists have regularly speculated about when our ancestors began to consume meat, coinciding with the growth of the brain and the development of tools. It appears that Australopithecus did not start this trend, as the study concluded that they likely did not hunt animals for consumption like later hominins did.
Teeth From the Cradle of Humankind
The process used by researchers to confirm Australopithecus’' vegetarian diet — involving a new technique to measure nitrogen isotope ratios in fossilized teeth — has proven to be an instrumental tool in studying ancient diets.
