Category: Human history

Recent paleoanthropological studies have found that the transition to farming approximately 10,000 years ago coincided with a significant decline in overall human health. This unexpected outcome raises the question: who was healthier, hunters and gatherers or farmers?

Archaeological evidence, including analysis of fossilized teeth and feces, reveals that Neanderthals ate a more varied diet than once believed, consuming a mix of plants and animals depending on their location. This groundbreaking research helps paint a more accurate picture of what did our ancestors eat in a day.

Contrary to the popular image of our ancestors as ravenous meat-eaters, archeological findings have shown that the diet of people 100 thousand years ago was far more diverse and varied by region. This period, during the Middle Paleolithic, saw early modern humans and Neanderthals foraging and hunting opportunistically for what was available in their local environments.

The idea of a forbidden fruit from a religious text is a compelling story, but scientific evidence suggests that fruit-eating began much earlier, with our primate ancestors consuming fruits as far back as 60 to 80 million years ago. This makes answering "Who was the first to eat fruit?" a journey deep into our evolutionary past.

While almost all mammals lose the ability to digest lactose after infancy, a significant portion of the human population, approximately 40%, has evolved a unique adaptation that allows them to continue consuming milk throughout their lives. This remarkable ability, known as lactase persistence, emerged relatively recently in human history and is a prime example of rapid evolution driven by cultural and environmental changes.

Over the past million years, human brain size accelerated, a phenomenon once attributed solely to meat consumption. However, recent research compellingly demonstrates why people ate starch, revealing that starchy plant foods were a critical energy source that fueled the evolution of our large, glucose-hungry brains. This shift, combined with the advent of cooking, fundamentally changed our evolutionary trajectory.