When you imagine Neolithic hunter-gatherers, you probably think of people eating hunks of meat around an open fire. But the truth is that many humans living 10,000 years ago were eating more vegetables and grains than meat. Researchers discovered this after an extensive chemical analysis of 110 pottery fragments found in the Libyan Sahara Desert, a region that was once a humid savannah full of lakes, herd animals, and lush plant life.

The pottery was excavated at two archaeological sites: Uan Afuda cave and the Takarkori rock shelter. People inhabited these spots on-and-off for several thousand years, between 8200–6400 BCE. Both sites were occupied shortly after the invention of heat-resistant pottery in Africa 10,000 years ago (pottery was independently invented 4,000 years earlier in Asia). Remains in these places reveal the emergence of a key cultural innovation: cooking and preparing vegetables in clay pots.

The Archaeological Mission in the Sahara. Sapienza University of Rome.

The Archaeological Mission in the Sahara. Sapienza University of Rome

As the researchers write in a paper for Nature Plants, "54% of the total residues recovered from the vessels have a predominantly plant source, with the remainder comprising animal fats or mixtures of plant and animal products." They add that this "high frequency of plant product processing" is unique among prehistoric pottery finds. Some of the pots were used for grains and fruits, while others had remains of leaves and stems. Most of the plants seemed to be aquatic, gathered from lake and river edges, along with some grasses from dry land.

The pots appear to have been used for a variety of purposes, from storage and grain processing to cooking. The prehistoric cooks of Uan Afuda Cave and Takarkori may have been making breads or grain mashes, as well as stews and perhaps even syrups.

Despite these advances, early cooking was a huge chore. Koç University archaeologist Rana Özbal, who was not involved in the study, explained that Neolithic cooks dropped heated stones into pots to warm up their food. Their kitchens were made possible entirely by heat-resistant pottery that could hold items for cooking. This in turn led to a broadened range of food sources, including plants that are impossible to eat raw.

The chefs of the ancient Sahara represent the bleeding edge of a much broader cultural change. Once they could eat a wide variety of plants, humans were able to settle down in one place and start raising domestic animals. They could support themselves on the bounty of the land, and they could wean babies earlier by feeding them soft, cooked food. This may have meant women could have more babies and that the babies they had were more likely to survive.

The sedentary lifestyle that most humans enjoy today began in caves like Uan Afuda, thanks to new cooking technologies. Put another way, learning to eat a broad range of vegetables was humanity's first step toward modern civilization.

Nature Plants, 2016. DOI: 10.1038/nplants.2016.194 (About DOIs).

Listing image by The Archaeological Mission in the Sahara. Sapienza University of Rome.