The analysis of the calcified dental plaque of our ancestors shows that some of them knew the properties of some plants even before the development of agriculture, and that they incorporated them into their diet.
According to the journal PLOS One, an international team of researchers led by experts from the Autonomous University of Barcelona and the University of York in the United Kingdom, the different chemical compounds and microfossils obtained from tooth samples thousands of years old suggest who probably knew of its nutritional qualities and possible medicinal use.
Scientists have focused their study on Al Khiday, a site in Central Sudan. There, they have discovered that its ancient inhabitants already consumed purple tigernut, Cyperus rotundus, a weed also called chives or cyper that, according to their essay, is an interesting source of carbohydrates and has been traditionally used for treating different conditions – among other things, it inhibits the growth of the bacterium S treptococcus mutans , which is associated with the appearance of cavities – and preparing aromatic substances.
In fact, they estimate that it formed an important part of the prehistoric diet even before the fields began to be sown. Its consumption lasted in the area for at least 7,000 years.
Professor Karen Hardy, from the Catalan Institute for Research and Advanced Studies, who has coordinated the initiative, clarifies that they have also found indications that, likewise, they ingested and prepared many other plants in different ways. “These details support the evidence that these people had extensive knowledge of them,” he says.
Photo: Donatella Usai / Sudanese and Sub-Saharan Studies Center (CSSeS); CC-BY
