Sorry about all of my non-music threads lately, but I couldn't pass this one up.
I've always been intrigued by early human history, and this one got me fired up.
Neanderthal microbes reveal surprises about what they ate and whom they kissed
Here's the primary research article.
So, the gut and mouth bacteria of modern humans and neanderthals appears very different. With only five specimen data, though, it's not really conclusive to group behaviour, IMO, but still, one neanderthal who ate mutton and rhinoceros meat and another who ate nuts and moss and mushrooms, I guess that doesn't surprise me. Certainly cultures from colder climates are more reliant on meat and fish in their diets than warmer climate cultures, in general.
What blew my mind was the evidence of consumption of large-ish amounts of poplar bark (which contains aspirin) and pennicilum mould, (which contains penicillin), which the scientists mused might be herbal treatment for an abscessed tooth.
Sure, why not, right?
Well, where herbal aspirin was a thing for modern humans around 400 BC or earlier, this Neanderthal guy died around 41000 BC.![Eek! :eek: :eek:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
I've always been intrigued by early human history, and this one got me fired up.
Neanderthal microbes reveal surprises about what they ate and whom they kissed
Here's the primary research article.
So, the gut and mouth bacteria of modern humans and neanderthals appears very different. With only five specimen data, though, it's not really conclusive to group behaviour, IMO, but still, one neanderthal who ate mutton and rhinoceros meat and another who ate nuts and moss and mushrooms, I guess that doesn't surprise me. Certainly cultures from colder climates are more reliant on meat and fish in their diets than warmer climate cultures, in general.
What blew my mind was the evidence of consumption of large-ish amounts of poplar bark (which contains aspirin) and pennicilum mould, (which contains penicillin), which the scientists mused might be herbal treatment for an abscessed tooth.
Sure, why not, right?
Well, where herbal aspirin was a thing for modern humans around 400 BC or earlier, this Neanderthal guy died around 41000 BC.