<![CDATA[New research has shed light on the diet of the earliest humans. An international research team has been analysing the teeth of 26 early humans found in Sri Lanka, with the oldest dating back 20,000 years. What has been revealed is striking in terms of our understanding of human development; nearly all the teeth suggested a diet that had been sourced from the rainforest. Previously, it was thought that early humans did not occupy tropical rainforests until much later. Tropical forests, it was thought, had remained largely 'pristine' and human-free environments until the Early Holocene period, 8,000 years ago. The reasoning behind this assumption was that a tropical rainforest environment is nutritionally poor and difficult to navigate. As a result, humans would have found rainforests a less successful hunting and foraging area compared to more open landscapes. This new study, published online in Science, shows that early humans adapted to living in rainforests for extended periods much earlier than thought. "Although archaeological and paleoenvironmental data have hinted at pre-Holocene rainforest foraging, earlier human reliance on rainforest resources has not been shown directly," the report states. The team analysed fossilised human and animal tooth enamel from Sri Lanka. The 26 human teeth, dating from 20,000 to 3,000 years old, came from three sites which are surrounded by either dense rainforest or more open terrain. By analysing the teeth, it was found that the diet of all the humans had been sourced from 'intermediate rainforest' environments. This indicates that humans were incredibly adaptable and could forage areas which were particularly challenging. Two of the teeth, it must be noted, did reveal something different. These two teeth showed a recognisable signature of an open grassland diet. The teeth, which were dated to the start of the Iron Age around 3,000 years ago, came from a period when agriculture was developing in the region. It is therefore likely that humans in the area continued foraging in rainforest environments until the advent of farming. Lead author of the study, Patrick Roberts, doctoral student from Oxford University's Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, said: "This is the first study to directly test how much early human forest foragers depended on the rainforest for their diet. The results are significant in showing that early humans in Sri Lanka were able to live almost entirely on food found in the rainforest, without the need to move into other environments. Our earliest human ancestors were clearly able to successfully adapt to different extreme environments." The study also notes that previous research has provided 'tantalising hints' of humans occupying rainforests as early as 45,000 years ago. This earlier research is, however, unclear as to whether this human rainforest activity was only for limited periods or year-round usage. Overall, it is clear that humans have been effectively exploiting rainforests in Sri Lanka since at least 20,000 years ago. The resilient and resourceful nature of early humans meant that they could survive in difficult hunting conditions during periods of considerable environmental flux. www.sciencemag.org Image courtesy of Wikimedia commons user: Fæ ]]>
Early Human Teeth Reveal Survival in Hostile Rainforests
