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Three Million Years Ago, Our Ancestors Were Vegetarian (www.wits.ac.za)

submitted 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/24943429

Human ancestors like Australopithecus – which lived around 3.5 million years ago in southern Africa – ate very little to no meat, according to new research published in the scientific journal Science. This conclusion comes from an analysis of nitrogen isotope isotopes in the fossilized tooth enamel of seven Australopithecus individuals. The data revealed that these early hominins primarily relied on plant-based diets, with little to no evidence of meat consumption.

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

Seems highly intuitive since vegetation is more available, can't run away, and (mostly) doesn't attack you when you try to kill it.