Thirty Thousand Year-Old Plant Food Processing

New evidence presented in this research paper contradicts theories that early humans were primarily hunters. Archeological findings in Italy, Russia, and the Czech Republic show that grains were ground into flour as early as 30,000 years ago.

European Paleoliths were assumed to have lived on diets of animal protein and fat as evidence of plant consumption has been sparse. In this paper, researchers present evidence of starch grains originating from wild plants on the surfaces of grinding tools found at archeological sites in Italy, Russia, and the Czech Republic. These findings suggest that, as early as 30,000 years ago, humans did not solely survive by hunting, but also subsisted on processed plant starch as well, possibly in the form of flour.