Neanderthal Diets Changed With Climate. Ours Didn’t

Plants and Animals





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A fossilized human molar used in this study. S.E. Zaatari et al., PLOS ONE 2016

Researchers studying tooth wear patterns in ancient Homo reveal that – as climate began to fluctuate severely in the Ice Age – Neanderthals adapted their diets in a different way than our own species. The findings, published in PLOS One this week, suggest that human dietary strategies gave our species an edge over Neanderthals.