Posted on 06/26/2014 7:54:45 PM PDT by blam
Will Dunham, Reuters
Jun. 26, 2014
Don't laugh, but the discovery of the oldest known human poop is offering valuable scientific insight into the life of Neanderthals who lived in Spain some 50,000 years ago.
Scientists said on Wednesday they found five samples of human fecal matter at an archeological site called El Salt, in the floor of a rock shelter where Neanderthals once lived.
Analysis of the samples provided a new understanding of the diet of this extinct human species, offering the first evidence that Neanderthals were omnivores who also ate vegetables as part of their meat-heavy diet, they said.
The straight poop: Fossil feces is not merely prehistoric toilet humor.
"So far, it is the only fossil evidence that gives us information of the ingestion and the regular meals of our ancestors," said Ainara Sistiaga, a geoarchaeologist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and University of La Laguna who was one of the researchers.
"Understanding the diet of past human species closely related to our own will help us gain perspective on our evolutionary constraints and adaptability," Sistiaga added.
The researchers examined the fecal fossils for biologically derived indicators of the types of food the Neanderthals ate.
Their findings indicate that Neanderthals predominantly consumed meat, as suggested by high amounts of one such "biomarker" called coprostanol formed by the bacterial reduction of cholesterol in the gut. But they also found evidence for significant plant intake as shown by the presence of a compound called 5 beta-stigmastanol, found in plant sources.
(snip)
(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...
The Neandertal Enigma"Frayer's own reading of the record reveals a number of overlooked traits that clearly and specifically link the Neandertals to the Cro-Magnons. One such trait is the shape of the opening of the nerve canal in the lower jaw, a spot where dentists often give a pain-blocking injection. In many Neandertal, the upper portion of the opening is covered by a broad bony ridge, a curious feature also carried by a significant number of Cro-Magnons. But none of the alleged 'ancestors of us all' fossils from Africa have it, and it is extremely rare in modern people outside Europe." [pp 126-127]
by James Shreeve
in local libraries
I don’t eat processed food-I grew up on a ranch in a family of believers in the natural. I grow my own veggies, buy local meat when avaiable-it is always free range and grass fed out here-I bake bread in winter, and carry granola bars when I hike, but otherwise limit grain consumption. I don’t do drugs, legal or otherwise. The paleo-livestyle may not work for everyone, but it has always worked for me...
So true, and this really strikes home with me.
I am a healthy adult, and rarely get sick. I had an internal infection earlier this week that would have easily killed me by now if not for a local urgent care clinic staffed with competent medical professionals, decent medical test equipment, and supplies such as I.V. antibiotics.
If not for the things we take for granted nowadays here, my wife would be burying me instead of asking me to take out the garbage today.
Got my mail first time since the 25th or before. Thanks to a FReeper to be named later for the link to the PLOS paper underlying all this:
http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0101045
I grew up in the 2nd most populous country on earth and never ate bread. Bread as we know it in US was rarity and expensive. We ate something similar to Mexican tortilla’s made from whole wheat flour and cooked on a hot iron skillet. No yeast in it at all to make it porous. Just water and a bit of peanut oil.
Actually, I went out with a trumpet player who had an upper lip like that.
Wow...you DO believe in natural. Good for you. I’ve never baked bread except in a bread machine (which is cheating, lol), but I don’t eat a lot of bread, either.
Why does this thread re-appear every day? It’s getting a bit scatological at this point.
I don’t eat bread in summer, since I don’t bake it then-and most of what gets baked in winter is for barter, or just a gift for a neighbor-a loaf will last over a week for me, and has to be kept in the fridge because there are no preservatives like the store-bought stuff.
Good point about the preservatives in bread. Do you know how long a loaf of store bought bread will last outside the frig? A LONG time. That can’t be good.
One neighbor that I’ve been trading with-homemade rye or 7-grain and some fresh herbs from my garden for eggs from her free-range chickens-told me she has had loaves of store bread last for 2 weeks-that is frankenbread...
2 weeks? lol...trust me, they will last even longer. frankenbread - I like it
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