Our ancient primate ancestors had an appetite for soft fruits – and their diet shaped human evolution
- Written by Carolina Loch, Senior Lecturer in Oral Biology, University of Otago
The diet of early anthropoids – the ancestors of apes and monkeys – has long been debated. Did these early primates display behaviours and diets similar to modern species, or did they have much humbler beginnings?
Research on early anthropoids has often suggested a diet high in soft fruits. But some species seem to have had a more...





