Final answer:
Archaeologists study early human diets using animal bones, human skeletal remains, coprolites, pottery residues, tools, and isotopic analysis from bones to gather information on ancient peoples' food consumption, health, and social behaviors.
Step-by-step explanation:
How Archaeologists Study Early Human Diets
Archaeologists seek to understand past human diets by studying animal bones, plant remains, and other organic material found in archaeological sites. These biological remains, unearthed during excavations, provide critical clues about the foods consumed by ancient peoples. By conducting zooarchaeology—the analysis of animal bones—archaeologists can ascertain what types of animals were hunted or domesticated for food. Bioarchaeology is another important sub-discipline where scientists study human skeletal remains to deduce the types of nutrition and the presence of diseases. Through these bones, we can determine the environmental impacts on diet and understand social and cultural behaviors related to food consumption and preparation.
Evidence Used in Determining Eating Habits
The evidence used to infer ancient diets includes coprolites (fossilized feces), which can show what individuals were eating directly. Artifacts such as pottery with residue analysis, tools which may imply processing methods, and human skeletal and dental remains are also scrutinized. Paleoecologists may look at stable isotope analysis from bones to determine types of vegetation or protein sources in ancient diets. By piecing together this evidence, archaeologists and anthropologists paint a picture of past foodways, and by extension, the lifestyles of our ancestors.