No nuts for 'Nutcracker Man': Early human relative apparently chewed grass instead
Monday, May 2, 2011 - 15:31
in Paleontology & Archaeology
For decades, a 2.3-million- to 1.2-million-year-old human relative named Paranthropus boisei has been nicknamed Nutcracker Man because of his big, flat molar teeth and thick, powerful jaw. But a definitive new study shows that Nutcracker Man didn't eat nuts, but instead chewed grasses and possibly sedges -- a discovery that upsets conventional wisdom about early humanity's diet.