Researchers from the universities of Barcelona and York have found evidence that Neanderthals must have had knowledge of medicinal plants. They write this this week in the journal Naturwissenschaften – The Science of Nature.
The Neanderthal is a prehistoric human species that lived in large parts of Europe. About 30,000 years ago, when the Homo sapiens (modern man) flooded Europe from the Middle East, the Neanderthal disappeared quite abruptly. They were probably outcompeted by the then already more advanced newcomers.
Spanish, British and Australian researchers investigated the diet of Neanderthals. Until recently, scientists thought that this distant, strange ancestor had mostly meat on its menu. However, there is mounting evidence that Neanderthals also ate green food. This recent research indicates that he was even very picky about this.
The researchers discovered a varied vegetable and herb diet in at least some Neanderthals by analyzing plaque remnants on fossil dentures. They found this plaque on Neanderthal remains in the El Sidrón cave (northern Spain).
Bitter flowers
At least one of the Neanderthals who died in the cave nearly 50,000 years ago was found to have eaten several bitter-tasting flowers and herbs, including chamomile and yarrow. Remarkable, because previous research showed that Neanderthals had a gene that made them sensitive to bitter tastes. Bitter taste can be a warning that something is poisonous. The fact that these herbs, which also have little nutritional value, were eaten nevertheless raises questions.
One of the possible explanations is that the Neanderthals studied ate the herbs as medicine. We now know that chamomile can relieve pain. This would not be completely illogical, by the way; most apes, including prehistoric man, are known to use certain herbs and plants to remedy physical complaints.
If further research shows that Neanderthals did indeed use drugs, this is another indication that this prehistoric man was not as primitive as we once thought. The El Sidrón Cave is a rich site of Neanderthal remains. Previous discoveries here have shown that the cave dwellers cared for their sick, buried the dead and decorated their bodies with paint and simple jewelry. In fact, we should no longer call them a 'primitive human species' at all.
- Tools of Neanderthals discovered in Limburg
- New:The Neanderthal Diet