Originally based solely on comparative anatomy, the reconstruction of diets from the most distant past now calls on many other methods. Dental micromachining was one of the first to be applied. Archaeozoology provides invaluable information on the ways in which fauna was exploited; and, more recently, the analysis of dental tartar has revealed the remains of plant foods. Above all, the last two decades have seen a spectacular development in methods based on isotope geochemistry.
Among primates, man stands out for his high consumption of animal proteins. During human evolution, access to energy-rich food sources played a critical role in the development of encephalization. The development of carved stone tools, probably as early as 3 million years ago, is generally associated with the processing of carcasses from scavenged or hunted animals. Numerous clues suggest that these behaviors were already present in australopithecines. However, they took on a particular development in the Homo genus, and particularly, from 1.9 million years ago, in the first Homo erectus.
The use and control of fire by archaic hominins is the subject of lively debate. Cooking food has many metabolic and energetic advantages. In Africa, traces of fire have been discovered in several deposits ranging in age from 1.5 to 0.7 million years. However, some or all of these remains may be due to natural fires. In Gesher Benot Ya'aqov, Israel, numerous burnt flints have been found in levels dating back 790,000 years. However, in both the Near East and Europe, indisputable traces of fire controlled by man have been found mainly since 400,000 BC.
