Early man lived on varied diet
The 3-million-year-old hominid Australopithecus africanus was thought to have a diet more closely related to that of modern chimpanzees than modern man. This theory is now being challenged by new research in the current Science journal which suggests a much richer and more varied diet.
Diet was always considered a direct contributory factor in the development of the genus Homo Sapiens. In particular, the emergence of larger brains was linked to after they began eating nutrient- and energy-rich animal foods necessary to fuel a larger brain. However, new data on the carbon isotopic evidence from the tooth enamel of Australopithecus shows that they ate from wooded areas, grasslands and probably included small mammals.
Modern chimpanzees forage mostly in wooded areas for fruits and on what are known as C3 plants, like trees, bushes and herbs. Animals incorporate their food's carbon profile into their teeth which are recorded in the enamel. Carbon isotope profiles differ from plants belonging to the C3 group to those of C4 which includes grasslands and hedges. The profiles found suggest that Australopithecus dined in the forest and grasslands with the possibility of catching small mammals dwelling in those habitats.