Story perspectives

Early Homo Hunted Antelope, Ate Marrow, Boosted Cognition

5/5/2026

Summary

Story summary

Researchers led by Francis Forrest published a May 5 2026 study showing early Homo acquired meat.
Analyzing 1,114 fossils from a 1.6-million-year-old Koobi Fora assemblage, they found cut and percussion marks but few predator marks, indicating hunting and scavenging.
They report that early humans moved antelope leg portions to riverside sites, broke bones with stone hammers for marrow, and that this meat and marrow diet supplied nutrition fostering complex cognition and sociality.

1 of 1

Story summary

Researchers led by Francis Forrest published a May 5 2026 study showing early Homo acquired meat.
Analyzing 1,114 fossils from a 1.6-million-year-old Koobi Fora assemblage, they found cut and percussion marks but few predator marks, indicating hunting and scavenging.
They report that early humans moved antelope leg portions to riverside sites, broke bones with stone hammers for marrow, and that this meat and marrow diet supplied nutrition fostering complex cognition and sociality.