Mushrooms may have been part of early human diets: primate study explores who eats what and when

By Alexander Piel, Asso. Professor in Anthropology, University College London, UCL
Fiona Stewart, Lecturer in Wildlife Conservation

Mushrooms may not be the first food that comes to mind when we imagine the diets of wild primates – or our early human ancestors. We tend to think of fruits and green leaves as the preferred foods for monkeys and apes.

But our new study from the Issa Valley in western Tanzania highlights a surprising, and potentially crucial, role for fungi in primate diets.

For nearly two decades, our work has centred on what it means to be a savanna-woodland primate in east Africa. Far from their forest-dwelling…

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