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Three Million Years Ago, Our Ancestors Were Vegetarian (www.wits.ac.za)

submitted 2 weeks ago by shreddy_scientist@lemmy.ml to c/science@lemmy.ml

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Human ancestors like Australopithecus – which lived around 3.5 million years ago in southern Africa – ate very little to no meat, according to new research published in the scientific journal Science. This conclusion comes from an analysis of nitrogen isotope isotopes in the fossilized tooth enamel of seven Australopithecus individuals. The data revealed that these early hominins primarily relied on plant-based diets, with little to no evidence of meat consumption.

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[–] Chuymatt@beehaw.org 2 points 2 weeks ago

And they likely died out because they were not generalists. We have seen this in multiple hominid species, where the dentition and chewing musculature points toward very specific dietary niches, and then, they die out, because of massive changes in the environment they were living in, also change the density of their specialized food. And then, the generalists survive.