Shows you are what you eat when it comes to survival

A new study of human teeth from islands in Southeast Asia shows how our earliest ancestors' diets set them up for survival in harsh, new environments, allowing them to thrive while other species died off. The research team, including archaeologists from The Australian National University (ANU) studied a collection of human teeth found on the islands of Timor and Alor - part of the region known as Wallacea. Co-author Professor Sue O'Connor said the study provides the first direct insights into the adaptations of our own species as it settled in a series of challenging island environments in Wallacea. "We were able to see what these humans were eating while their teeth were being formed," Professor Sue O'Connor said. "The earliest human fossils found in the region - dating to around 42,000 to 39,000 years ago - showed these people relied almost exclusively on resources from the sea to survive. This matches well with the food remains in the cave sites which comprised predominantly  fish and shellfish in the earliest levels. "But, from around 20,000 years ago, human diets seem to have switched, making use of the island forests resources.