Study Reveals Early Humans Relied on Diverse Plant-Based Diets

New archaeological findings challenge the meat-heavy narrative of the popular 'paleo' diet, highlighting the importance of starchy plants in ancient human evolution.

Researchers uncovered 780,000-year-old starch grains on basalt tools at the Gesher Benot Ya'akov site in northern Israel, indicating early plant processing by hominins.
The study shows that ancient humans consumed a wide variety of plant-based foods, including acorns, cereals, legumes, and aquatic plants like water lilies and water chestnuts.
Contrary to the meat-centric assumptions of the 'paleo' diet, plant foods provided critical carbohydrates to support the energy demands of early human brains.
The findings suggest advanced cognitive and social behaviors, as hominins used tools and coordinated efforts to gather and process plants year-round.
This discovery contributes to a broader understanding of ancient human diets and their reliance on diverse and sustainable food sources for survival and evolution.