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Study Links Europeans' Aversion to Eating Insects to Ancient Genomic Shifts
Researchers found ancient Europeans had little insect DNA in dental plaque, while Neanderthals carried levels comparable to great apes.
- On Friday, researchers Manuel and Pablo Librado published findings in Science Advances revealing Neanderthals consumed insects at rates comparable to great apes, with Diptera—flies and mosquitoes—comprising their primary insect diet.
- Metagenomic analysis of dental plaque DNA from 18 Neanderthals and 745 humans dating from about 45,000 years ago to about 1,500 years ago enabled the discovery. Hunter-gatherers in Siberia and farmers in Anatolia ate significantly fewer insects by comparison.
- Sequencing DNA from 96 great apes known to eat insects revealed consumption patterns mirroring Neanderthals. Conversely, ancient Europeans living contemporaneously with Neanderthals consumed insects rarely, if at all, suggesting no active hunting behavior.
- The Food and Drug Administration allows an average of 50 insect fragments per 50 grams of cornmeal in modern food. Frozen broccoli may host around 60 aphids, thrips, or mites per 100 grams, demonstrating insect presence remains commonplace today.
- This study challenges assumptions about ancient diets, positioning Neanderthals as active insect foragers. Researchers questioned, "Manna from heaven—what do people think that was?" suggesting broader historical reexamination of dietary practices.
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41 Articles
41 Articles
Ancient Teeth Suggest Europeans Rarely Ate Bugs — and May Have Been Less Adapted to Digest Them
Learn how ancient dental plaque, Neanderthal comparisons, and chitin-digestion genes show that Europeans rarely ate insects on purpose and were less equipped to break them down.
·Jupiter, United States
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Europe's aversion to eating insects may have deep ecological and evolutionary roots
In recent years, human population growth, coupled with the climate crisis, environmental pressures, and current production and consumption patterns, has driven the search for alternative food sources. With 1,611 insect species listed as edible, organizations such as the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) have proposed insects as a sustainable food source.
·United Kingdom
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Coverage Details
Total News Sources41
Leaning Left4Leaning Right9Center15Last UpdatedBias Distribution54% Center
Bias Distribution
- 54% of the sources are Center
54% Center
14%
C 54%
R 32%
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