Neanderthals’ cultural practices, similar to those of Indigenous peoples, might be the answer to the mystery of their high δ¹⁵N values. Ancient hominins were butchering, storing, preserving, cooking, and cultivating a variety of items. All these practices enriched their paleo menu with foods in forms that nonhominin carnivores do not consume. Research shows that δ¹⁵N values are higher for cooked foods, putrid muscle tissue from terrestrial and aquatic species, and, with our study, for fly larvae feeding on decaying tissue.

I mean, this makes sense. Other primates eats grubs. But I would never have come up with this theory without someone else suggesting it first.

  • ThePowerOfGeek@lemmy.worldEnglish
    9·
    1 day ago

    Note to self: If you ever invent time travel and are invited to have lunch with a neanderthal tribe… politely decline!

  • swelter_spark@reddthat.comEnglish
    6·
    1 day ago

    It’s very interesting that they were able to eat rotting meat without getting sick. I believe some cultures still do. I practice this skill, but eating beef that’s a little off still makes my stomach upset.

    • bigfondue@lemmy.world
      6·
      1 day ago

      A little off is probably worse than fully fermented. I read a paper about fermented meat, which I think is actually linked in the article. Apparently when food ferments it becomes acidic just like sauerkraut does. This kills off the non-acid-loving bacteria. The acid-loving bacteria also consume all the oxygen in the meat which also keeps other bacteria from growing.

        • bigfondue@lemmy.world
          2·
          12 hours ago

          Moreover, lactic acid bacteria (LAB), which play a key role in the fermentation process, produce a wide range of enzymes, toxins, and other metabolites that inhibit invasion by unwanted pathogens such as Clostridium botulinum, the agent that causes botulism, and many others (Alakomi et al. 2000; Axelsson 2004; Caplice and Fitzgerald 1999; de Moreno de LeBlanc et al. 2015; Fadda et al. 2002; Farouk et al. 2014; Holzapfel and Wood 2014; Liu et al. 2014; Ray and Joshi 2015; Riley and Chavan 2007; Ross et al. 2002; Singh et al. 2012; Stadnik…

          From: https://www.paleoanthropology.org/ojs/index.php/paleo/article/view/752

    • Capt. Wolf@lemmy.world
      5·
      23 hours ago

      Jesus, you know that became a thing because one stubborn guy was like, “The cheese went bad??? Fuck it, I’m not losing my money! Get your fly cheese here!”