We are trying at all costs to know the composition of this diet supposed to perfectly suit our genetic needs. But wouldn’t the global standardization of the modern diet veil our face? Could it really be that there was only one regime then? Most likely not. For the archaeozoologist, Jean-Denis Vigne, there is even no doubt. ” The Paleolithic is spread over a very vast period of more than 2 million years. However, during this one, the climates varied considerably: that one thinks of the periods of glaciation or of warming! This implies that the available food resources, whether of plant or animal origin, have also fluctuated. [In addition], it should not be forgotten that during this period several species of hominids also followed one another which had different feeding habits from each other… ”

According to an article published in 2000 in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the diet proposed by Loren Cordain would not correspond at all to what all our ancestors ate. Some were, for example, more herbivorous than carnivorous, hunting having probably been predominant only in populations living at high altitudes. In addition, prehistoric men did not have the freedom to choose what they ate: they ate what was available, which obviously varied considerably from place to place, and from time to time of the year.

Paleo-anthropological research^1-9 (thanks to the markers present in the bones or the enamel of the teeth) showed the extraordinary diversity of eating behaviors of the time, witness to the flexibility allowed by the organization. The Neanderthals of Europe, for example, had a particularly meaty diet, while Homo Sapiens, our species, could feed on much more varied products, such as seafood or products of plant origin depending on their locality. .

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