SSS 2012-07-20（在线收听）

 You might picture Neanderthal cavemen gnaw on bones around campfire. Which wouldn’t be inaccurate. But Neanderthal mayhave also dieted on roasted vegetables and known a bit about medicinal plants,too. So says a study in a journal N, the science of nature. Researchers analyzed hard in dental plaque from five Neanderthal found in O cave, in northern Spain.Yes, fifty thousand year old dental plaque. And they found a lot lurking between the teeth. Like evidence of nuts, grasses and green veggies, chemical traces of wood smoke and tiny intact stachy granules, proved Neanderthals ate their c… . In one individual, they detected a compound from medicinal chamomile in Y. Y is known in nutritional value. And since Neanderthals did have the genes to detect Y’s bitter taste. Researchers speculate that the cave dwellers ate so much m.. not as food but to self medicate. Not too farfetched they say, because primate like chimps also use medicinal plants. Luckily for scientists doing this detective works, Neanderthals may have known athing or two about medicine, but they didn't get regular check-ups at the dentist.