A groundbreaking archaeological study conducted along the banks of the Jordan River, just south of northern Israel’s Hula Valley, is rewriting what we thought we knew about the diets of early humans. For decades, much of the scientific community—and by extension, popular culture—has embraced the idea that ancient hunter-gatherers were predominantly meat-eaters, surviving largely on animal protein. This belief has fueled everything from scholarly debates to diet trends like the modern “paleo” diet, which emphasizes meat consumption as a return to our so-called ancestral eating habits. But new evidence suggests this long-held narrative misses a significant part of the story.
The recent research, published in the prestigious Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), reveals that early humans in the region consumed a surprisingly plant-heavy diet. In fact, starchy plants, nuts, seeds, and legumes played a central role in fueling their energy needs. The discovery challenges traditional assumptions about early human nutrition and offers a more complex and nuanced understanding of how our ancestors sustained themselves nearly 800,000 years ago.
At the heart of this discovery is a site known as Gesher Benot Ya’aqov, situated along what was once the shoreline of the ancient Hula Lake. Archaeologists have long studied this site due to its rich and remarkably well-preserved record of early human settlement. Over twenty distinct layers of habitation have been unearthed, each providing invaluable insight into the lives of the early hominids who lived there. Fossilized animal bones, charred seeds, nuts, and preserved fruits have offered clues into their day-to-day survival. But it’s the discovery of microscopic starch grains on ancient stone tools that is turning heads in the archaeological world.
The research was spearheaded by Dr. Hadar Ahituv, whose doctoral thesis at Bar-Ilan University’s Martin (Szusz) Department of Land of Israel Studies and Archaeology laid the groundwork for the study. Now working at Haifa University’s Zinman Institute of Archaeology in the Laboratory for Ancient Food Processing Technologies (LAFPT), Dr. Ahituv collaborated with a multidisciplinary team of experts. Among them were Prof. Nira Alperson-Afil and Dr. Yoel Melamed from Bar-Ilan University, Prof. Naama Goren-Inbar from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and Prof. Amanda Henry from Leiden University in the Netherlands. Together, they combined archaeological expertise with cutting-edge technology to paint a vivid picture of prehistoric life along the Jordan River.
By examining basalt tools—specifically hand-held maces and anvils—recovered from Gesher Benot Ya’aqov, the researchers identified starch granules that had been ground or crushed, indicating they were processed by human hands. These tools, used to crack and pulverize plant foods, provide the earliest evidence of deliberate plant processing by ancient hominids. The plants processed were not random; they included nutrient-dense foods like acorns, cereals, and legumes, along with aquatic plants such as the yellow water lily and an extinct variety of water chestnut. These plant foods were rich in carbohydrates—critical for sustaining the high energy demands of the human brain.
This revelation casts new light on early human dietary practices. Instead of being primarily reliant on meat, these ancient populations displayed a sophisticated understanding of their local environment, harvesting and processing a diverse array of edible plants. The presence of aquatic species in their diet suggests they exploited not just terrestrial resources but also those from freshwater ecosystems, reflecting adaptability and ecological intelligence.
The discovery of plant residues on tools is particularly significant because plant remains are rarely preserved in ancient archaeological contexts. Bones, due to their durability, tend to survive through the ages, leading many to conclude that early human diets revolved around hunting large game. But the fragile nature of plant remains—subject to decay and often invisible without microscopic analysis—has meant that plant consumption has often been underestimated or overlooked. The Gesher Benot Ya’aqov findings provide compelling evidence that plants were not mere supplements to a meat-based diet but may have been a staple, if not the primary, source of calories.
Dr. Ahituv emphasizes the broader implications of this study: “This discovery underscores the importance of plant foods in the evolution of our ancestors. We now understand that early hominids gathered a wide variety of plants year-round, which they processed using tools made from basalt. This discovery opens a new chapter in the study of early human diets and their profound connection to plant-based foods.”
The significance of this research extends beyond diet. It offers important insights into the cognitive and social behavior of these early humans. The use of tools to process food suggests more than mere survival instincts; it hints at complex planning, knowledge sharing, and possibly the division of labor within social groups. Preparing starchy plants such as acorns requires processing techniques like leaching to remove bitter tannins, which would necessitate both knowledge and cooperation. These findings point to a level of cognitive sophistication that aligns with other archaeological evidence of complex social behaviors among early hominids.
Microscopic analysis of the tools yielded more than just starch grains. Researchers also discovered traces of pollen, rodent hairs, and feathers, providing a fuller picture of the site’s ecological diversity and reinforcing the authenticity of the findings. These remnants paint a rich and dynamic portrait of a world where early humans navigated complex ecosystems, harvesting resources both on land and in water.
The implications of the Gesher Benot Ya’aqov study also resonate with our understanding of human evolution. The high carbohydrate content of starchy plants may have played a critical role in the development of the human brain, which consumes significant energy compared to body size. This challenges the long-standing “expensive tissue hypothesis,” which argues that increased meat consumption was necessary to support brain growth. Instead, this new evidence suggests that starchy plant foods could have provided the sustained energy required for our ancestors’ cognitive evolution.
Prof. Amanda Henry, an expert in ancient diets and co-author of the study, points out the relevance of these findings for how we perceive modern human diets: “The assumption that early humans were primarily hunters ignores the fact that plant-based foods were crucial, and they required considerable knowledge and labor to harvest and prepare. It wasn’t just about what they ate, but how they interacted with their environment to secure their survival.”
The timing of these discoveries is also significant in the broader timeline of human history. The site at Gesher Benot Ya’aqov dates to approximately 780,000 years ago, a period associated with Homo erectus or possibly early archaic Homo sapiens. This challenges the idea that complex food processing and dietary diversity only emerged with more recent human ancestors or in conjunction with the advent of agriculture tens of thousands of years later.
Additionally, this site is a key piece of evidence in understanding early human migration out of Africa. The Jordan Rift Valley, where the site lies, was a major corridor for early human dispersal into Eurasia. The ability to exploit diverse resources along this route may have been crucial for the survival and expansion of human populations moving into new territories. The findings suggest that these early humans were not merely opportunistic scavengers but skilled gatherers with a deep understanding of their environment.
The new perspective offered by this research stands to challenge and enrich public discourse around human evolution and diet. In an age where food trends often invoke prehistoric lifestyles, scientific evidence like this encourages a reevaluation of simplistic ideas about what our ancestors ate and how they lived. The modern “paleo” diet, often characterized by high meat intake and low carbohydrates, draws inspiration from a mythologized past. Yet the reality appears to be that early humans consumed a broad and balanced diet, rich in plants and carbohydrates.
This new understanding doesn’t just correct misconceptions about early humans; it also invites a broader conversation about sustainability and human diets today. As societies worldwide grapple with issues of food security and environmental impact, lessons from the past—such as the value of plant-based diets—may hold important insights for the future.
More information: Ahituv, Hadar, Starch-rich plant foods 780,000 y ago: Evidence from Acheulian percussive stone tools, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2025). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2418661121