Dr. Henry in Nature: How Ancient People Fell in Love with Carbs
In 2011, Dr. Amanda Henry published her findings from dental plaque picked from the teeth of Neanderthals who were buried in Iran and Belgium between 46,000 and 40,000 years ago. Plant microfossils trapped and preserved in the hardened plaque showed that they were cooking and eating starchy foods including tubers, grains and dates. “Plants are ubiquitous in our environment,” Henry says, “and it’s no surprise we put them to use.”