What Did Cro-Magnons Hunt and Eat?
Cro-Magnon man, now referred to as European Early Modern Humans, were hunter-gatherers who ate a varied diet containing hunted big game, fruits, nuts, berries, seeds, plants and roots. It is also known that they ate fish, insects and the prey left over from predators.
Research suggests that throughout the 50,000-year record, dental characteristics showed remarkable similarities, indicating that Cro-Magnons always hunted a wide variety of game, particularly big game. Cro-Magnons were remarkable hunters, thanks to their tools which enabled them to hunt herd animals such as deer, as well as larger game such as mammoths and saber tooth tigers. Cro-Magnons also ate eggs and used tools to break open bones and skulls in order to obtain marrow and brains. Because they were hunter-gatherers, their diet changed with the season. They were mainly meat eaters, as the high protein value of red meat gave them the most beneficial metabolic payoff.
