New research, though, suggests that
humans were eating cooked root vegetables earlier than previously
thought. In a cave in southern Africa, researchers remnants of
170,000-year-old cook fires containing fragments of plant
rootsspecifically, a carb-rich veggie similar to modern potatoes.
The remnants were discovered in 2016, but it
took researchers years of comparison to modern roasted plants to find a
match. Theyve identified the leftovers as belonging to a plant from the
genus Hypoxis, which tastes more like a yam than a potato; though still
eaten today, due to overexploitation its much rarer than in the past.
While investigators have found even earlier in human development, this
is the first clear evidence that cavemen roasted their vegetables.
So why do we imagine our ancestors as
voracious meat-eaters? Partly because its easier to find leftover
animal bones, and archaeologists arent looking for plant remains. Even
if cavemen were eating a more balanced diet than we imagine, though,
that doesnt mean the cant be useful for modern-day humans. Its value
isnt based in historical accuracy, after all, and its worked for many
people. Diets, just like cavemen, can evolve.
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