What were the first foods eaten by humans?

January 5, 2026 •

3 min read

The earliest evidence for hominin meat consumption using tools dates back 3.4 million years ago, indicating an important dietary transition. But before this, what were the first foods eaten by humans and their hominid predecessors, and how did these choices shape our evolution?

Quick Summary

The diet of early humans and hominids was not static but varied significantly over millions of years, adapting from largely plant-based foraging to a complex omnivorous diet that included plants, insects, and animal protein, facilitated by tool use and cooking.

Key Points

Early Hominid Diet: The earliest hominid ancestors, such as Australopithecus, primarily ate plants like fruits, leaves, roots, and tubers, much like other primates.
Shift to Omnivory: The diet of the genus Homo broadened significantly to include meat, with archaeological evidence showing tool-assisted butchery of animals dating back 3.4 million years.
Cooking Changed Everything: The control of fire, at least 800,000 years ago, revolutionized early human nutrition by making food more digestible and calorie-rich, fueling brain growth and reducing time spent chewing.
Dietary Flexibility: Early human diets were highly adaptable and depended on local resources, challenging the simplistic notion of a single "caveman diet".
Plants Were Always Key: Despite the focus on meat, dental and other fossil evidence shows that a wide variety of plants, including starchy foods like acorns, were a staple of many early human diets across different regions.
No Single Paleo Diet: The diet of our ancestors varied wildly depending on their environment, and the modern "Paleo" diet does not accurately reflect this diversity or the high importance of plant-based foods.

The Very Beginnings: Earliest Hominid Diets

Reconstructing the diets of the earliest human ancestors relies on fossil evidence like tooth wear, jaw structure, and chemical analysis. Early hominids, such as Australopithecines (around 4 to 2 million years ago), primarily consumed a plant-based diet similar to modern great apes, consisting of various fruits, berries, tubers, roots, nuts, seeds, leaves, and stems available in their African habitats. Around 3.5 million years ago, some Australopithecines began incorporating more C4 pathway plants like grasses and sedges into their diet, reflecting a move into more open environments.

The Rise of Omnivory: The Genus Homo

The emergence of the genus Homo, including Homo habilis and Homo erectus, saw a significant expansion of the diet. The development of stone tools around 2.6 million years ago allowed access to new food sources.

The Shift from Scavenging to Hunting

Initially, early Homo likely scavenged animal carcasses using stone tools to access bone marrow and fatty tissues, providing crucial energy for brain growth. Over time, tool technology and cooperation improved, leading to a transition towards active hunting.

The Culinary Revolution: The Impact of Fire

The controlled use of fire, dating back at least 800,000 years, dramatically altered early human diets. Cooking increased the digestibility and nutritional value of both meat and plants, provided more calories, supported brain development, reduced pathogens, and made previously inedible foods, like starchy tubers, edible.

A Diverse and Adaptable Diet

Early human diets were highly diverse and adapted to local environments, seasons, and climates. Hunter-gatherer groups developed varied strategies; for example, Arctic groups relied on marine mammals, while tropical groups consumed more plants and insects.

Comparing Early Human Dietary Components


Food Category	Earliest Hominids (Australopithecus)	Early Homo (Pre-Cooking)	Early Homo (Post-Cooking)
Primary Plants	Wild fruits, berries, leaves, tough roots, and nuts	Wild fruits, berries, leaves, roots, tubers, grasses	Cooked starchy tubers, roots, and grasses
Animal Protein	Small animals, insects, eggs, and occasional carrion	Increased access to scavenged meat and marrow from large animals	Systematically hunted and cooked large game and marine life
Processing Methods	Raw consumption, perhaps crushing with stones or teeth	Use of sharp stone tools for butchery and accessing marrow	Application of heat, making tougher foods soft and more digestible
Energy Density	Lower energy intake, requiring more time foraging and chewing	Higher energy from meat and marrow, supporting brain growth	Efficient energy extraction, reducing time spent eating and digesting

The Misconception of the Modern "Paleo" Diet

Modern research, including the analysis of dental calculus, indicates that plant foods were a significant and often cooked part of early human and Neanderthal diets. The evidence suggests early human diets were broadly omnivorous and highly flexible, rather than strictly meat-based, allowing them to thrive in diverse environments. For more on dietary evolution, see the National Geographic overview on The Evolution of Diet.

Conclusion: The Ultimate Adaptable Omnivore

The evolution of the human diet reflects continuous adaptation. The first foods eaten by humans included a wide variety of plants. The later incorporation of meat, scavenging, hunting, and especially cooking with fire, dramatically increased calorie intake and fueled brain development. Early humans were highly adaptable omnivores, with diets varying based on location and resources – a key to their global success.

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, for a long period of human history, meat was eaten raw, especially during the early stages of scavenging. The ability to cook with fire did not emerge until much later, around 800,000 years ago, which then became a game-changer for food preparation.

Scientists use several lines of evidence, including analyzing fossilized dental calculus for plant microremains (starch grains), studying tooth wear patterns, examining stable isotopes in bones and teeth, and investigating stone tools and butchered animal bones at archaeological sites.

The diet was not fixed but evolved. The earliest hominids, like Australopithecus, were largely plant-based, while the genus Homo later developed a highly omnivorous diet. The ratio of plants to meat varied significantly depending on the location and specific species.

Scavenging involved finding and utilizing carcasses left by predators, a key strategy for early Homo using new stone tools. Hunting, a more advanced behavior, involved actively pursuing and killing prey. The transition from scavenging to more consistent hunting marked a significant shift in food acquisition.

Cooking made food easier to digest, which allowed our ancestors to absorb more calories and nutrients with less effort. This provided the energy needed to fuel larger brains and contributed to a decrease in jaw and tooth size over time.

No, the diet varied dramatically. Different early human groups, including Neanderthals and various Homo sapiens populations, adapted their diets to local resources, climates, and technologies, showing remarkable flexibility.

Early humans and hominids likely consumed various insects, including grasshoppers, termites, and larvae, as they are a rich source of protein and fat. Insect consumption has been observed in modern-day primates and hunter-gatherer groups.