About Us

The Max Planck Research Group on Plant Foods in Hominin Dietary Ecology seeks to explore some of the complex relationships between the biology and behavior of humans, and the foods they consumed. The evolutionary history of the modern human dietary repertoire is a major research challenge. For various reasons, existing information about ancient diets is heavily biased towards the consumption of animal foods. Plants are known to be important components of modern hunter-gather diets, and the inclusion of plant foods and the development of processing technologies has been implicated in grade shifts within the hominin lineage. An increased knowledge of the role played by plant foods throughout hominin evolution allows us to better understand our relationship with the environment, and helps us to develop better-informed models of hominin behavioral ecology, including aspects of social structure and the adoption of new technologies. We explore three main research foci:

1. Reconstructing the diets of individuals and groups using established methods, including plant microfossil analysis, and stable isotope analysis;
2. Exploring the costs and benefits of plant foods by generalized nutritional analyses; and
3. Improving methods for discovering ancient use of plants.

We are located within the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology and are closely affiliated with the Department of Human Evolution.