Neanderthal Tartar Reveals Earliest Evidence of Self-Medication
Analysis of Neanderthal dental tartar has revealed the earliest evidence of self-medication.
Dental tartar collected from El Sidron site in the North of Spain, which is 50,000 years old, revealed that our ancestors gathered around fires to cook using plants, producing not only food, but also medicinal potions.
The evidence also shows that Neanderthals also had a more varied diet than some may think; while most agree that the diet was primarily carnivorous, the latest research indicates that people also ate plants.
Karen Hardy, from ICREA, the Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies, which is located in Barcelona, has been working with Stephen Buckley, from the University of York and other colleagues from the UK to obtain and analyse tartar from the teeth of five Neanderthals. The analysis process involved both chemicals tests and investigation under an electron microscope.
The microscope analysis revealed cracked tartar, which suggested that Neanderthals cooked plants before eating them and there was also evidence to suggest that plants were wood-smoked.
Additional research showed that there was little protein in the diet, meaning that the inhabitants of El Sidron site ate a small quantity of meat; one of the Neanderthals showed evidence of eating yarrow and camomile, which were believed to be an anti-inflammatory.
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