The role of cooking in human evolution and survival
Early humans survived on raw foods. They foraged and hunted whatever was available, consuming it in its natural state. While raw food provides energy, it can be challenging to consume and digest efficiently. That changed when our ancestors learned to control fire.
Grantee Spotlight: Mareike Janiak
What makes humans such "adaptable" and flexible creatures, especially when it comes to what we eat? Primates, in general, can survive on a wide variety of foods, but there are also a lot of species with a range of really specialized diets, like those focused on insects, leaves, or fruit, and all of these foods have different challenges when it comes to digesting them. Mareike Janiak's research is focused on understanding how the species in these different dietary niches have adapted to digesting their foods.
Bonobo Diet of Aquatic Greens May Hold Clues to Human Evolution
With support from The Leakey Foundation, scientists have observed bonobos in the Congo basin foraging in swamps for aquatic herbs rich in iodine. Iodine is a critical nutrient for brain development and higher cognitive abilities, and this new research may explain how the nutritional needs of prehistoric humans in the region were met.
Bonobos Eat and Share Meat at Rates Similar to Chimpanzees
Small forest antelope in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have more to worry about than being eaten by leopards. In at least one portion of the forest, Weyn's duikers are the preferred meat consumed by bonobos, according to new research supported by The Leakey Foundation.
Grantee Spotlight: Elizabeth Mallott
Leakey Foundation grantee Elizabeth Mallott is studying how eating meat has shaped the primate gut microbiome.