Prehistoric man may have been a baker
Source: Agencies |
October 20, 2010, Wednesday
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Print Edition
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STARCH grains found on 30,000-year-old grinding stones suggest that prehistoric man may have dined on an early form of flat bread - contrary to the popular perception of him as primarily being a meat-eater.
The findings, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal on Monday, indicate that Paleolithic Europeans ground down plant roots similar to potatoes to make flour, which was turned into dough.
"It's like a flat bread, like a pancake with just water and flour," said Laura Longo, a researcher on the team from the Italian Institute of Prehistory and Early History.
"You make a kind of pita and cook it on the hot stone," she said. The end product was "crispy like a cracker, but not very tasty," she added.
The grinding stones, each of which can fit comfortably into an adult's palm, were discovered at archeological sites across Italy, Russia and the Czech Republic.
The researchers said their findings put mankind's first known use of flour back some 10,000 years, the previously oldest evidence having been found in Israel on 20,000-year-old stones.
The findings may also upset fans of the Paleolithic diet, which follows earlier research which assumes early human beings ate a meat-centered diet.
Also known as the caveman diet, the regime ignores carbohydrate-laden foods like bread and cereal - modern-day adherents eat only lean meat, vegetables and fruit.
The findings, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal on Monday, indicate that Paleolithic Europeans ground down plant roots similar to potatoes to make flour, which was turned into dough.
"It's like a flat bread, like a pancake with just water and flour," said Laura Longo, a researcher on the team from the Italian Institute of Prehistory and Early History.
"You make a kind of pita and cook it on the hot stone," she said. The end product was "crispy like a cracker, but not very tasty," she added.
The grinding stones, each of which can fit comfortably into an adult's palm, were discovered at archeological sites across Italy, Russia and the Czech Republic.
The researchers said their findings put mankind's first known use of flour back some 10,000 years, the previously oldest evidence having been found in Israel on 20,000-year-old stones.
The findings may also upset fans of the Paleolithic diet, which follows earlier research which assumes early human beings ate a meat-centered diet.
Also known as the caveman diet, the regime ignores carbohydrate-laden foods like bread and cereal - modern-day adherents eat only lean meat, vegetables and fruit.
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