Fossilized Teeth Hold Clues to Early Human Species’ Diet

WEDNESDAY, June 27 (HealthDay News) — New research suggests that
human ancestors who lived 2 million years ago had a diet that was devoted
to harder foods than other early humans.

“It is an important finding because diet is one of the fundamental
aspects of an animal, one that drives its behavior and ecological niche,”
study co-author Paul Sandberg, a University of Colorado at Boulder
doctoral student, said in a university news release. “As environments
change over time because of shifting climates, animals are generally
forced to either move or to adapt to their new surroundings.”

The ancestor in question is a hominid called Australopithecus
sediba
, or Au. sediba, an upright species that was short and
gangly and lived in what’s now South Africa. Unlike its counterparts,
Au. sediba ate tree bark, bushes and fruits instead of softer foods
such as grasses and similar plants, the researchers believe.

An international team of investigators, led by the Max Planck Institute
of Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, gained insight into the
diet of Au. sediba by analyzing fossilized teeth from two sets of
remains with the help of a laser that freed carbon from the tooth enamel.
The carbon, in turn, reveals what the species ate, the study authors
explained in the report published online June 27 in the journal
Nature.

The researchers concluded that these two Au. sediba individuals
ate very differently than all 81 previously tested hominids.

“What fascinates me is that these individuals are oddballs,” study
co-author Matt Sponheimer, a professor at the University of Colorado at
Boulder, said in the news release. “I had pretty much convinced myself
that after 4 million years ago most of our hominid kin had diets that were
different from living apes, but now I am not so sure.”

Sponheimer added that the small sample size used in this study doesn’t
provide conclusive evidence, but as more fossils are discovered,
scientists “won’t have to wait another 2 million years” to perform
additional research.

More information

The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History has more about Australopithecus sediba.

You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

Leave a Reply

Powered by WordPress | Designed by: Premium WordPress Themes | Thanks to Themes Gallery, Bromoney and Wordpress Themes