New Study Reveals Humans Were “Hypercarnivores”, Ruling as Apex Predators for 2 Million Years

For most of human history, our ancestors didn’t just plant crops and farm land; they mostly hunted wild animals to eat and survive. A new study argues that humans are hypercarnivores who ruled the planet as apex predators for 2 million years.

Hypercarnivores pertain to a species that has a diet consisting of at least 70% meat. This could be by actively hunting their prey or by scavenging leftovers. This new idea challenges the concept that humans evolved to be omnivores, an animal that regularly consumes both meat and plants.

Apex Predators for 2 Million Years

What does it mean to be an apex predator? These are simply the species that sit at the top of their food chain. They can be the biggest, the fastest, or the strongest, depending on their environments, but most importantly, no one can hunt them back.

Humans are a prime example of an apex predator, as we have no real predators in our habitat that view us as food or prey. This is what the new study from Tel Aviv University claims they found: that we have maintained our position as apex predators for 2 million years.

The researchers combined various fields such as archaeology, biology, and genetics in order to challenge the idea of ancient humans as omnivores. There is no denying that we are omnivores now, but the scientists believe that it only began about 12,000 years ago. It is around the time when we first transitioned aggressively to farming and agriculture.

Read more: Science Daily

Built to Eat Meat: Biology and Anatomy

Were Humans Apex Predators For 2 Million Years?

The first clue is on our own body, because we are built like a predator, more than other primates or our evolutionary cousins. Our stomach acidity is unusually high, which helps us kill the bacteria and pathogens in our food, and also digest meat.

Most of our digestive system resembles that of a carnivorous animal, more than that of herbivores. You can also observe it in our physiology, like human jaws and gut structure, which clearly evolved for hunting and the consumption of hard-to-chew foods.

Hunting, Tools, and Societal Evolution

Another theory that supports this claim is the hunting hypothesis, which states we evolved to hunt for meat effectively. Some of the features referred is the bipedalism, tool making, the development of language, and cooperative strategies.

To effectively hunt for meat, our species may have needed to coordinate and communicate, which is why it developed so much in our lineage, compared to other primates.

There are also some significant archaeological finds, such as butchered animal bones at Olduvai Gorge and early stone tools, which support the theory that after foraging, we transitioned to hunting big animals, like mammoths, which set us apart as the top predators of every food chain on the planet.

Read more: Wikipedia

When the Meat Ran Out—Diet Diversified

If there is anything our species is good for, it is our ability to change and adapt. When climate change hit our ancestors, and the ice age started, scientists believe they may have run out of meat to hunt due to other animals and overhunting.

Soon, the only food sources left are smaller animals, fish, and plants. This is the reason researchers believe ancient humans needed to transition to becoming omnivores and begin farming about 12,000 years ago.

However, it is important to note that this is not a universally accepted theory, and most scientists still consider our species to be omnivores and have a wide range of dietary flexibility.

Humans were Hyper-Carnivorous Apex predators! | Dr Miki Ben-Dor

Author's Final Thoughts

A new study just claimed that ancient humans were hypercarnivores and apex predators for 2 million years. There is a lot of evidence that could support this; however, some of that could be biased or misinterpreted to fit the hypothesis of the research instead. The important thing to know is that we evolved to be both plant and meat eaters.

Read next: Scientists Explain: If Humans and Chimps Share Up to 99% of Their DNA — Then Why Are We So Different?

References & Further Reading

Ben-Dor, M., Sirtoli, R., & Barkai, R. (2021). The evolution of the human trophic level during the Pleistocene. American Journal of Physical Anthropology. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.24247

Richards, M. P., & Trinkaus, E. (2009). Isotopic evidence for the diets of European Neanderthals and early modern humans. PNAS. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0903821106

Jaouen, K., et al. (2019). Exceptionally high δ15N values in collagen single amino acids confirm Neandertals as high-trophic level carnivores. PNAS. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1814087116

Richards, M. P., et al. (2005). Isotope evidence for the intensive use of marine foods by Late Upper Palaeolithic humans. Journal of Human Evolution. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0047248405000862

Bocherens, H., & Drucker, D. G. (2003). Trophic level isotopic enrichment of carbon and nitrogen in bone collagen: case studies from recent and ancient terrestrial ecosystems. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology. https://doi.org/10.1002/oa.662