Abstract
Rancid research Many twentysomethings who follow a meat-heavy, low-carb paleo diet presume they’re re-creating the eating patterns of our hunter-gatherer ancestors. Presumption, however, is of little value to Kimberly Foecke. An anthropology graduate student at the George Washington University (GW), she instead is trying to reconstruct the diet that Neanderthals actually ate, and part of that involves a whole lot of rotten meat. Studies on Neanderthals present a paradox: Neanderthals’ fossils are high in nitrogen-15 relative to nitrogen-14 compared with other animals, which implies that their diet was closer to that of hypercarnivores, like hyenas and coyotes, which eat almost entirely meat, than to that of humans. But “this doesn’t make sense from the point of view of human nutrition because if you are a hypercarnivore, you starve from an imbalanced diet,” says Alison Brooks, Foecke’s research adviser. Further, recent work on Neanderthals’ dental buildup show remnants of starchy plants.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.