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Contact: Bobbie Mixon
bmixon@nsf.gov
703-292-8485
National Science Foundation
Caption: Researchers examined the teeth of Paranthropus boisei, also called the "Nutcracker Man," an ancient hominin that lived between 2.3 and 1.2 million years ago. The "Nutcracker Man" had the biggest, flattest cheek teeth and the thickest enamel of any known human ancestor and was thought to have a regular diet of nuts and seeds or roots and tubers. But analysis of scratches on the teeth and other tooth wear reveal the pattern of eating for the "Nutcracker Man" was more consistent with modern-day fruit-eating animals.
Credit: Nicolle Rager Fuller, National Science Foundation
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Related news release: Ancient 'Nutcracker Man' challenges ideas on evolution of human diet
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