Report: Early humans dined on antelope brains

Grazing antelope (Thinkstock)
Grazing antelope (Thinkstock)

According to a recent article from Science News, early humans enjoyed dining on antelope brains.

Science News reports that the findings came from recently discovered fossils in Kenya. Via the publication:

Three sets of butchered animal bones unearthed at Kenya’s Kanjera South site provide the earliest evidence of both long-term hunting and targeted scavenging by a member of the human evolutionary family, anthropologist Joseph Ferraro of Baylor University in Waco, Texas, and his colleagues conclude.

Experts believe the "hominids" were trying to "add a side of fatty, nutrient-rich brain tissue to their diets." Research cited in Science News argues that human scavengers likely waited for big cats to feed on the carcasses before hammering at the skulls to access the brain tissue.

Newser writes that "this nutrient-rich brain tissue may have helped homo erectus support larger bodies, bigger brains, and travel longer distances."