Remains of 780,000-year-old eating habits of prehistoric men were found near Gesher Benot Yaakov, in a cave by Lake Hula in northern Israel.

Archaeologists discovered remains of a rich plant diet of prehistoric men in a cave in northern Israel. The remains of nuts, seeds and other floral parts were found within sediments of the cave along with stone tools and animal fossils. No human remains were found so far but the archaeologists suspect it could have been Homo erectus or another form of hominin within the time frame of this period.

Although there is no proof that the plants were eaten, the presence presence of remains foraged from plants that don’t grow around the site is a good evidence. The prehistoric men were also eating plants that have since disappeared, as the experts found more than 10 species that existed in the area in prehistoric times but no longer today, such as two types of water nuts.

According to the experts this is the first time science has demonstrated the rich variety of plants and the subsistence opportunities available to early humans as they moved out of Africa and had to adapt to a Eurasian diet.

(after Haaretz, Yaakov Langsam & Hebrew University of Jerusalem)