No sustained increase in zooarchaeological evidence for carnivory after the appearance of Homo erectus

Abstract

Significance Many quintessential human traits (e.g., larger brains) first appear in Homo erectus . The evolution of these traits is commonly linked to a major dietary shift involving increased consumption of animal tissues. Early archaeological sites preserving evidence of carnivory predate the appearance of H. erectus , but larger, well-preserved sites only appear after the arrival of H. erectus . This qualitative pattern is a key tenet of the “meat made us human” viewpoint, but data from sites across eastern Africa have not been quantitatively synthesized to test this hypothesis. Our analysis shows no sustained increase in the relative amount of evidence for carnivory after the appearance of H. erectus , calling into question the primacy of carnivory in shaping its evolutionary history.