PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

2 million years ago, human relative 'Nutcracker Man' lived on tiger nuts

An Oxford University study has concluded that our ancient ancestors who lived in East Africa between 2.4 million-1.4 million years ago mainly ate tiger nuts (grass bulbs) supplemented with the odd grasshopper and worm

2014-01-09
(Press-News.org) Contact information: Press Office
press.office@admin.ox.ac.uk
44-018-652-80534
University of Oxford
2 million years ago, human relative 'Nutcracker Man' lived on tiger nuts An Oxford University study has concluded that our ancient ancestors who lived in East Africa between 2.4 million-1.4 million years ago mainly ate tiger nuts (grass bulbs) supplemented with the odd grasshopper and worm

An Oxford University study has concluded that our ancient ancestors who lived in East Africa between 2.4 million-1.4 million years ago survived mainly on a diet of tiger nuts. Tiger nuts are edible grass bulbs still eaten in parts of the world today. The study published in the journal, PLOS ONE, also suggests that these early hominins may have sought additional nourishment from fruits and invertebrates, like worms and grasshoppers.

Study author Dr Gabriele Macho examined the diet of Paranthropus boisei, nicknamed "Nutcracker Man" because of his big flat molar teeth and powerful jaws, through studying modern-day baboons in Kenya. Her findings help to explain a puzzle that has vexed archaeologists for 50 years.

Scholars have debated why this early human relative had such strong jaws, indicating a diet of hard foods like nuts, yet their teeth seemed to be made for consuming soft foods. Damage to the tooth enamel also indicated they had come into contact with an abrasive substance. Previous research using stable isotope analyses suggests the diet of these homimins was largely comprised of C4 plants like grasses and sedges. However, a debate has raged over whether such high-fibre foods could ever be of sufficiently high quality for a large-brained, medium-sized hominin.

Dr Macho's study finds that baboons today eat large quantities of C4 tiger nuts, and this food would have contained sufficiently high amounts of minerals, vitamins, and the fatty acids that would have been particularly important for the hominin brain. Her finding is grounded in existing data that details the diet of year-old baboons in Amboseli National Park in Kenya – a similar environment to that once inhabited by Paranthropus boisei. Dr Macho's study is based on the assumption that baboons intuitively select food according to their needs. She concludes that the nutritional demands of a hominin would have been quite similar.

Dr Macho modified the findings of the previous study on baboons by Stuart Altmann (1998) on how long it took the year-old baboons to dig up tiger nuts and feed on various C4 sources. She calculated the likely time taken by hominins, suggesting that it would be at least twice that of the yearling baboons once their superior manual dexterity was taken into account. Dr Macho also factored in the likely calorie intake that would be needed by a big-brained human relative.

Tiger nuts, which are rich in starches, are highly abrasive in an unheated state. Dr Macho suggests that hominins' teeth suffered abrasion and wear and tear due to these starches. The study finds that baboons' teeth have similar marks giving clues about their pattern of consumption.

In order to digest the tiger nuts and allow the enzymes in the saliva to break down the starches, the hominins would need to chew the tiger nuts for a long time. All this chewing put considerable strain on the jaws and teeth, which explains why "Nutcracker Man" had such a distinctive cranial anatomy.

The Oxford study calculates a hominin could extract sufficient nutrients from a tiger nut- based diet, i.e. around 10,000 kilojoules or 2,000 calories a day – or 80% of their required daily calorie intake, in two and half to three hours. This fits comfortably within the foraging time of five to six hours per day typical for a large-bodied primate.

Dr Macho, from the School of Archaeology at Oxford University, said: 'I believe that the theory – that "Nutcracker Man" lived on large amounts of tiger nuts– helps settle the debate about what our early human ancestor ate. On the basis of recent isotope results, these hominins appear to have survived on a diet of C4 foods, which suggests grasses and sedges. Yet these are not high quality foods. What this research tells us is that hominins were selective about the part of the grass that they ate, choosing the grass bulbs at the base of the grass blade as the mainstay of their diet.

'Tiger nuts, still sold in health food shops as well as being widely used for grinding down and baking in many countries, would be relatively easy to find. They also provided a good source of nourishment for a medium-sized hominin with a large brain. This is why these hominins were able to survive for around one million years because they could successfully forage – even through periods of climatic change.'



INFORMATION:



For more information and photographs, please contact the University of Oxford Press Office on +44 (0)1865 280534 or email press.office@admin.ox.ac.uk

NOTES FOR EDITORS

'Baboon feeding ecology informs the dietary niche of Paranthropus boisei' is published on 8 January 2014, at 5pm Eastern Time. Once live, it can be found at: http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0084942

Information about the School of Archaeology can be found at: http://www.arch.ox.ac.uk/

The Amboseli Baboon Project at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya is one of the longest-running studies of modern-day baboons. Further information can be found at: http://amboselibaboons.nd.edu/

The empirical data underlying this study can be found in the book by Stuart A Altmann Entitled, 'Foraging for Survival: Yearling baboons in Africa', which was published in 1998 by The University of Chicago Press.

Photographs are available:

Photo 1: Landscape at the Amboseli National Park (with baboons). The landscape inhabited by Paranthropus boisei was very similar (Image: courtesy of Gabriele Macho)

Photo 2: Skull of 'Nutcracker Man' or Paranthropus boisei. The image is of Olduvai Hominid 5 (OH 5), the most famous of the early human fossils, which was found at Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania. Image: courtesy of Donald C Johanson.

Photo 3: Palate and maxillary teeth of Paranthropus boisei (OH 5). Image: courtesy of Donald C Johanson.



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Cardiologists urged to reduce inappropriate radiation exposure

2014-01-09
Cardiologists urged to reduce inappropriate radiation exposure Radiation from cardiology procedures equals more than 50 chest X-rays per person each year Sophia Antipolis, 9 January 2014: Cardiologists are being urged to reduce patient radiation exposure ...

New study finds upper-airway electronic stimulation effective for obstructive sleep apnea

2014-01-09
New study finds upper-airway electronic stimulation effective for obstructive sleep apnea UH Case Medical Center one of US and European clinical trial sites showing marked improvements for sleep apnea sufferers CLEVELAND: Results published ...

Study finds that information is as important as medication in reducing migraine pain

2014-01-09
Study finds that information is as important as medication in reducing migraine pain Findings also show that patients report pain relief even when they know they are receiving a placebo BOSTON – The information that clinicians provide to patients ...

Ancient Cambodian city's intensive land use led to extensive environmental impacts

2014-01-09
Ancient Cambodian city's intensive land use led to extensive environmental impacts Soil erosion may reveal ancient water management in Mahendraparvata Soil erosion and vegetation change indicate approximately 400 years of intensive land use around the city of Mahendraparvata ...

Neolithic mural may depict ancient eruption

2014-01-09
Neolithic mural may depict ancient eruption Volcanic rock age suggests Catalhoyuk mural may be based on Turkish eruption Volcanic rock dating suggests the painting of a Çatalhöyük mural may have overlapped with an eruption in Turkey according to results published ...

BOSS measures the universe to 1-percent accuracy

2014-01-09
BOSS measures the universe to 1-percent accuracy The Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey makes the most precise calibration yet of the universe's 'standard ruler' Today the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS) Collaboration announced that BOSS has ...

Tracking the deep sea paths of tiger sharks

2014-01-09
Tracking the deep sea paths of tiger sharks Understanding the habitat-use and migration patterns of large sharks Shark research scientist, Dr Jonathan Werry, has undertaken a four year study tracking the migratory patterns of tiger sharks (Galeocerdo cuvier) ...

Discovery brings scientists 1 step closer to understanding tendon injury

2014-01-09
Discovery brings scientists 1 step closer to understanding tendon injury Research led by Queen Mary University of London has discovered a specific mechanism that is crucial to effective tendon function, which could reveal why older people are more ...

Bacteria linked to water breaking prematurely during pregnancy

2014-01-09
Bacteria linked to water breaking prematurely during pregnancy DURHAM, N.C. – A high presence of bacteria at the site where fetal membranes rupture may be the key to understanding why some pregnant women experience their "water breaking" prematurely, ...

Bed bugs grow faster in groups

2014-01-09
Bed bugs grow faster in groups Researchers have previously observed that certain insects -- especially crickets, cockroaches and grasshoppers -- tend to grow faster when they live in groups. However, no research has ever been done on group living among bed ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

MIT engineers develop a fully 3D-printed electrospray engine

Speculum exams unnecessary for HPV screening

Reduced prediabetes in people who ate broccoli compound

Landmark atlas reveals how aging breast tissue shapes breast cancer risk

SHEA supports key federal advisory committees

Neurologic complications of flu nearly 50 times greater for children with underlying neurologic conditions

Killing H5N1 in waste milk — an alternative to pasteurization

NTT Research and Harvard scientists optimize biohybrid ray development with machine learning

Mapping connections in a neuronal network

Study: Air pollution exposure late in pregnancy increases NICU admission risk

Engineers enable a drone to determine its position in the dark and indoors

U-M materials scientist, chemical engineer elected into National Academy of Engineering

Evolutionary tradeoffs: Research explores the role of iron levels in COVID-19 infections

Ecological Society of America selects 2025 EEE Scholars

U.S. stream network is longer during annual high-flow conditions

Seismic techniques reveal how intense storms in 2023 impacted aquifers in Greater Los Angeles

Elephant seals in the Pacific serve as deep-ocean sentinels, revealing patterns otherwise hard to measure

Depression linked with higher risk of long-term physical health conditions

Los Angeles groundwater remained depleted after 2023 deluge, study finds

Foraging seals enable scientists to measure fish abundance across the vast Pacific Ocean

Dessert stomach emerges in the brain

Fungus ‘hacks’ natural immune system causing neurodegeneration in fruit flies

A new view on 300 million years of brain evolution

Birds have developed complex brains independently from mammals

Protected habitats aren’t enough to save endangered mammals, MSU researchers find

Scientists find new biomarker that predicts cancer aggressiveness

UC Irvine astronomers gauge livability of exoplanets orbiting white dwarf stars

Child with rare epileptic disorder receives long-awaited diagnosis

WashU to develop new tools for detecting chemical warfare agent

Tufts researchers discover how experiences influence future behavior

[Press-News.org] 2 million years ago, human relative 'Nutcracker Man' lived on tiger nuts
An Oxford University study has concluded that our ancient ancestors who lived in East Africa between 2.4 million-1.4 million years ago mainly ate tiger nuts (grass bulbs) supplemented with the odd grasshopper and worm