About some Fossils that point to Neandertal

diets — and medicine use

Fossil teeth from Neandertals show these folk ate a varied diet.
Signs suggest that at least one individual had a series of infections.
He may even have self-medicated using all-natural versions of
aspirin and penicillin.

After analyzing ancient dental plaque on fossil remains,

Scientists came to these conclusions.

In the mouth, a community of bacterial species tends to colonize

teeth. This gooey, germy community is what dentists call plaque,
and they recommend brushing teeth regularly to evict such microbial
squatters. After all, they can erode teeth and lead to cavities.

Scientists have just analyzed DNA from the dental plaque found
on teeth from four Neandertals. The fossil remains of these folk
turned up in European caves. Individuals from Belgium’s Spy cave
appear to have dined on wild sheep. (That’s because) The local
countryside, back in their day, had been a broad grassland.

In contrast, Neandertals at the El Sidrón cave in Spain had been

eating mosses, mushrooms and pine nuts. That fits with this region
having been forested.

The new findings support the idea that Neandertals ate a broad
spectrum of foods. Whether their diets were based on meats or
plants likely reflected the resources around them.

The best-preserved Neandertal plaque came from a young male

from Spain. One of his teeth had an abscess. That’s a pus-filled
infection. But it was not this lad’s only problem. His plaque preserved
DNA from several microbes present that can cause gum disease.
 Especially interesting: This guy may have been treating his
infections. For instance, his plaque held genetic material from poplar
trees. Poplars are a natural source of salicylic acid. That’s the active
ingredient in the modern pain-killer known as aspirin. The scientists
also turned up DNA from the same mold that makes the antibiotic
penicillin.

The researchers were even able to extract an almost-complete

genetic blueprint, or genome, for one of the dental microbes.
Methanobrevibacter oralis. It has the honor of being the oldest
microbe genome ever decoded.