Revealed - Neanderthals had complex vegetarian diets, used plant-based medicines

New Delhi: A new research has revealed surprising facts about secret lives of Neanderthals, including what they ate and how they self-medicated during illness.

It has been revealed that Neanderthals have had complex vegetarian diets, while some also used plant-based medicines to treat illnesses, as per a study of their teeth.

Often thought of by many as simple "cave men" with only weak links to modern humans, Laura Weyrich from the Australian Centre for Ancient DNA has said analysis of Neanderthal dental plaque has revealed a varied and "modern-looking" vegetarian diet, Xinhua news agency reported.

 

"It's a very, very different picture from the grunting, club-toting Neanderthal that we like to think about," Weyrich told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) on Thursday.

"They were probably very intelligent, communicative and very in tune with what was going on around them."

Weyrich revealed that some families of Neanderthal, such as the El Sidron group from modern Spain, ate a diet comprised mostly of plants and vegetables available in the forest.

She said there was evidence of pine nuts, mushrooms, grass and moss in the plaque analysis from the El Sidron Neanderthals.

"So that's the true palaeo diet," Weyrich said. "That's what people would have been eating in palaeolithic times if they lived in a forest like the El Sidron Neanderthal did."

Interestingly, the research also uncovered evidence that Neanderthals used specific plants to try and treat a variety of illnesses, including using poplar bark to counter the effects of gastrointestinal issues such as diarrhoea.

Poplar bark contains an active ingredient in Penicillium and aspirin, and has long been used as an anti-inflammatory and pain reliever, especially when treating arthritis and rheumatism.

"So it is likely he would have been trying to self-medicate," Weyrich added.

The evidence comes from ancient DNA found in the dental tartar of Neanderthals living about 40,000 years ago in central Europe.

(With IANS inputs)