Fossilized human droppings found at this site in El Salt, Spain show chemical evidence that Neanderthals consumed significant amounts of plants as well as meat (Photo credit: Ainara Sistiaga)
Chemical analysis of 50,000-year-old fossilized droppings found in Spain suggest that Neanderthals ate more greens than previously thought.
Researchers compared the levels of chemicals such as coprostanols – formed from meat in the digestive tract – to those of other chemicals like 5b-stigmastanol, which are digestive products of plants. They conclude that while Neanderthals ate mostly meat, they also had significant plant intake.
Original research paper published in the journal PLOS ONE on June 25, 2014.
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