New Study Suggests Cavemen Might’ve Been Closer to Vegans Than Carnivores

When we think of our ancestors back in the caveman days, we think of a big, strong man who had a spear or stone weapon in his hand, ready to hunt a boar or other animals in the area.

However, what if it is just part of the story, and they actually eat more plants than meat? That is what this new study suggests.

Traditional Understanding of the Paleo Diet

The paleo diet refers to the idea that emphasizes the consumption of lean meats, fish, vegetables, and nuts. All the proponents and past findings argue that this matches our genetic makeup and promotes health and overall well-being, which might have helped our ancestors survive their days.

However, recent studies from this archaeological discovery are challenging the Paleo diet, which is meat-heavy, believed to be the primary food consumed by the hunter-gatherers.

Source: People.com

The Taforalt Discovery: A Plant-Based Diet

🔴 From Cavemen to Modern Day: The Fascinating History of Human Nutrition

At Taforalt Cave, also known as Grotte des Pigeons, researchers analyzed some rock formations that showcase how cavemen lived, along with some human remains that date back to approximately 15,000 years ago.

Iberomaurusians, a group of Late Stone Age hunter-gatherers, were studied using isotopic analysis of their remaining teeth and bones. What was found was that they had a diet rich in plant-based food.

Meat was still part of their diet; however, unlike the popular belief, this study highlights a significant reliance on plants such as acorns, pulses, wild oats, and other starchy foods.

This finding directly challenges the prevailing notion that our ancestors ate mostly meat during their days. It, of course, resulted in making some noise on the internet, where commenters and social media users argue which one is the healthier option that might have led to the survival of the human race.

Source: Research Gate

Implications for Modern Dietary Practices

So, you might be asking yourself what the implications of these findings towards modern humans? Well, the answer is that a lot of people have been trying to live like our ancestors, as they argue that whatever their diet was, it was the healthier option, despite all the science and technological improvements today.

If this study were able to successfully prove that not just a few cavemen but most of them actually had this diet, the foundation of the modern Paleo diet, which emphasizes meat consumption based on assumptions about ancient eating habits, will surely be changed or modified.

The Paleo diet serves as one of the guidelines to healthy eating habits today, so that diet changes will affect a lot of our institutions and personal choices.

Source: The Independent

Highly Plant-Based Cavemen Study Triggers Meat Eaters

Author's Final Thoughts

This research from Taforalt Cave definitely provides compelling evidence that late Stone Age humans consumed a diet rich in plant-based foods.

However, keep in mind that the Stone Age lasted for roughly 3.4 million years. One specific study about a particular group of late Stone Age humans must not be overgeneralized to represent the diets of all early humans across different times and regions.

Read more: The Man Who Lived Alone in the Woods for 27 Years — Just to Feel Peace

References & Further Reading

Moubtahij, Z., et al. (2024). Isotopic evidence of high reliance on plant food among Later Stone Age hunter-gatherers at Taforalt, Morocco. Nature Ecology & Evolution. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-024-02382-z

Humphrey, L. T., et al. (2014). Earliest evidence for caries and exploitation of starchy plant foods in Pleistocene hunter-gatherers from Morocco. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1318176111

Taylor, V. K., et al. (2011). The Epipalaeolithic (Iberomaurusian) at Grotte des Pigeons (Taforalt), Morocco: A preliminary study of the land Mollusca. Quaternary International. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2011.04.041

Morales, J., et al. (2024). Late Pleistocene exploitation of Ephedra in a funerary context at Taforalt (Morocco). Scientific Reports. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-77785-w

Barton, R. N. E., et al. (2013). Origins of the Iberomaurusian in NW Africa: New AMS radiocarbon dating of the Middle and Later Stone Age deposits at Taforalt Cave, Morocco. Journal of Human Evolution. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2013.06.003