New evidence has emerged that calls into question long-held beliefs about early human diets, also known as hominins, which had previously suggested that meat from large animals was a significant part of their diet. Hominins were hunters and gatherers, but their diets consisted of more than just hunting large animals for food; it turns out that beavers were also on the menu. A study published in Scientific Reports by researchers from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU), the Leibniz Zentrum für Archäologie (LEIZA), and Leiden University suggested that around 400,000 years ago, early humans not only hunted but also skillfully processed and consumed beavers. It is now shedding light on a previously unnoticed diversity in early humans’ culinary preferences.
Misinformation and evidence
The error was caused by a scarcity of well-preserved remains of small mammals and plants. As a result, it was widely assumed until recently that early archaic humans subsisted primarily on larger animals. However, cut marks on the bones of 94 beavers discovered in a 400,000-year-old hominin site in Bilzingsleben, Germany, were attributed to stone tools. This revealed that the stone tool could have been used by early humans for the intricate processing of beaver carcasses. The ability to hunt and consume large animal meat is frequently associated with the development of tools such as spears and, later, more sophisticated hunting technologies. It’s worth noting that the exact composition of early human diets would have varied depending on factors like geographic location, climate, and available resources. As agriculture evolved, humans began to eat a more varied diet that included domesticated plants and animals.
The majority of the remains found in the study, primarily young adult beavers, indicated a deliberate strategy of targeting inexperienced yet fully grown, fat-rich animals, challenging previous assumptions about early humans’ dietary habits. The distribution of cut marks also suggested a focus on beaver skins, emphasizing our ancestors’ multifaceted use of these animals. Study authors stressed the importance of this discovery, with Professor Sabine Gaudzinski-Windheuser noting, “The Bilzingsleben beaver exploitation evidence demonstrates a greater diversity of prey choice by Middle Pleistocene hominins than commonly acknowledged, and a much deeper history of broad-spectrum subsistence than commonly assumed.”
