China News Service, Beijing, September 8 (Reporter Sun Zifa) When did ancient humans start eating plant foods?

When did the toothpicking that continues to this day occur?

How did you floss your teeth?

These interesting topics in the evolution of modern humans are not only of great interest to the public, but also one of the topics that scientists have been paying close attention to and continue to study for a long time.

　　The research team led by Wu Yan, a young researcher at the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (Institute of Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences), has analyzed the earliest known modern humans in East Asia (80,000-120,000 years ago) unearthed from the Fuyan Cave site in Daoxian County, Hunan Province. ) tooth fossils were extracted and analyzed for dental calculus. The latest research found direct evidence of the earliest modern human plant food in East Asia, and found that ancient humans at that time already had tooth picking behavior.

The results of this important research discovery have been published in the international professional academic journal Frontiers in Plant Science.

In the Herbarium of the Institute of Ancient Spine of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, young researcher Wu Yan presented and introduced the fossil samples preserved by the institute for research.

Photo by China News Agency reporter Sun Zifa

　　Researcher Wu Yan, the first author and corresponding author of the paper, said in an interview with a reporter from China News Agency in Beijing recently that understanding human food sources is a key part of revealing the origin and evolution of modern humans.

Much of the success of human evolution can be attributed to people's ability to obtain and consume a variety of foods.

Today, in East Asia, a key region of human origin and evolution, little is known about the food sources of early modern humans, especially plant foods.

Dental calculus of ancient humans from 80,000 to 120,000 years ago in Fuyan Cave, Daoxian County, Hunan Province.

Photo courtesy of Wu Yan

　　She said that in the study of ancient human tooth fossils and dental calculus at the Fuyan Cave site, the research team used advanced scientific research equipment and technical means to find a variety of plant starch grains including acorns, roots and tubers in the dental calculus.

This finding provides the first direct evidence of consumption of carbohydrate-rich plant resources by early modern humans in East Asia, reflecting early modern humans' survival strategies and their adaptation to the environment.

Remains of ancient human tooth-picking behavior from 80,000 to 120,000 years ago in Fuyan Cave, Daoxian County, Hunan Province.

Photo courtesy of Wu Yan

　　At the same time, the research team also found tracheids from bordered pits of conifers in the dental calculus and observed many small and parallel scratches on the teeth.

This is consistent with the plant remnants and scratches in the Neanderthal dental calculus reported by scholars in Spain before 49,000 years ago. The former is tens of thousands of years earlier than the latter.

"This discovery reveals a possible tooth-picking behavior in early modern humans in East Asia," Wu Yan said.

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