Sep
26

Did meat make us human?

Eating meat is what made us human. At least, that’s one of the leading theories to explain how our brains got so big.

Graphic for Sidedoor 8.8 showing caveman roasting meat

Much has been made of the theory that eating meat made us human. About two million years ago, an ancient ancestor emerged with a bigger brain and a smaller gut. And people say that a shift towards a meat-centric diet is the reason — but the full story of how humans arrived at our intelligence and appetites may be less easy to digest.

This time on Sidedoor, we investigate this commonly held assumption and see how our understanding has evolved.

Hominid skuls photographed against a black background
These early ancestors that came before Homo sapiens — Australopithecus africanus, Homo erectus, and Homo habilis — lived 1.5 to two million years ago and had a much more “ape like” existence compared to modern humans. Photos by James Di Loreto, Donald H. Hurlbert, Jennifer Hill & Chip Clark, Human Origins Initiative, Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History

Guests

  • Briana Pobiner, paleoanthropologist; research scientist and museum educator with the Human Origins Program at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History
  • Becky Malinsky, curator of primates, Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute
  • Andrew Barr, paleoanthropologist; assistant professor of anthropology, The George Washington University 
Composite photo of fossil tools and marks on bones
(Left) About 1.7 million years ago, toolmakers began shaping hand axes: multipurpose tools that dominated early human technology for over a million years. These examples from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History range from 250,000 to 1.1 million years old and were found in France, Kenya, and India. Photo by James Morrison. (Right) Example of butchery marks on a fossil. Photo by Briana Pobiner, Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History

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Links and Extras

Lowland gorillas in their enclosure at the National Zoo
Four-year-old western lowland gorilla Moke spends time with mom Calaya at the Smithsonian’s National Zoological Park & Conservation Biology Institute. Gorillas are one of our closest evolutionary ancestors yet subside on a primarily vegetarian diet (with some insect exceptions!).

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Posted: 26 September 2022
About the Author:

Jessica Sadeq has worked in the Central Office of Public Affairs since June 2007. She is the Marketing Manager for the Office of Communications and External Affairs.