A study from Oxford University revealed that aside from berries, nuts, and red meat, our ancestors mainly relied on "tiger nuts" for food.
These edible grass bulbs called tiger nuts (Cyperus esculentus) are still eaten in some parts of the world today. Gabriele Macho, lead author of the study from the Oxford University's Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, told Discovery.com, "Tiger nuts, still sold in health food shops as well as being widely used for grinding down and baking in many countries, would be relatively easy to find."
"They also provided a good source of nourishment for a medium-sized hominin with a large brain. This is why these hominins were able to survive for around one million years because they could successfully forage - even through periods of climatic change." she added.
To discover the diet that the cavemen followed millions of years ago, Macho looked into the eating pattern of Paranthropus boisei, also called Nutcracker Man due to his powerful jaws and flat molar teeth, and the diet of the modern Kenyan baboons.
She found out that the modern baboons, which live in a very similar environment as the Nutcracker Man, consumed large amounts of tiger nuts. She theorized that tiger nuts are also a huge part of the ancient man's diet because it was easy to find and it has massive amounts of vitamins, fatty acids, and minerals. The nutritional content of tiger nuts played an important role in nourishing the hominin brain.
These edible grass bulbs are extremely rough in an unheated state and this might cause the wear and tear on the teeth of the ancient man's skull. The study also found out that same marks of wear and tear are visible in the baboons' teeth, giving a clear indication about the similarities of their diet.
Aside from eating tiger nuts, our ancestors may have also eaten worms, invertebrates, and grasshoppers to provide themselves with additional nourishment.
The study was published in the January 8 issue of PLOS One.
