What Did Neanderthals Eat

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What did the Neanderthals eat?

The diet of humans today is unbelievably diverse. We have access to an almost endless selection of foods from around the world, ranging from exotic species of plants to animals from well beyond our own geographic region. Earlier Hominids, however, did not have access to such niceties and had to rely solely on their own means to acquire the food they consumed. Yet the types of food that were consumed by early hominids is a question that is still quite a mystery for many paleoanthropologists. Unlike physical characteristics of Neanderthals (such as bone structure) determining the diet of a Neanderthal that has been dead for over 40,000 years is challenging.

The first method that researchers have in determining …show more content…

Yet, these two tests don't tell the whole story. While all this research shows that Neanderthals definitely consumed meat, the question is exactly how much of the diet could be comprised of meat. The issue of how much of the diet was comprised of plants is a much more difficult question, namely because plants contain very little protein compared to meats and therefore are almost negligible when being analyzed using isotope analysis. What this means to researchers is that the difference in nitrogen isotope levels between a diet of 50% meat and one consisting of 80% meat is almost negligible. This void of information has led to a greater discussion on the benefits and consequences of a high meat diet in …show more content…

Yet the claims that plants constituted a larger part than previously suspected is not without a complete lack of physical evidence- in fact, at sites in Israel, remains of nuts and seeds have been found in caves believed to have been inhabited by Neanderthals. Additionally artifacts and tools show clear signs of wear that many researchers conclude were likely caused by grinding plants and nuts. Considering the constraints of a high meat diet mentioned earlier it seems that Neanderthals would supplement their diet of meat with plants. An interesting suggestion is that they utilized UGO (Underground Storage Organs). examples of these include: tubers, corms, bulbs, rhizomes and true roots. All of which contain high levels of carbohydrates which would greatly improve the nutrition of Neanderthals - furthermore UGO’s are fairly easy to access by Neanderthals given the tools they had to dig and skin them. Also due to underground nature of UGO’s they are also a resource that would not be fiercely competed against by other creatures. Additionally these UGO’s would be available to Neanderthals all year round and providing a good source of mineral nutrients including Vitamin C and

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