# What did early humans eat before inventing tools? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 1, 2012, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-early-humans-eat-before-inventing-tools/620571 "2012-05-01T22:26:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-early-humans-eat-before-inventing-tools/620571/1 "2012-05-01T22:26:12Z")
I was thinking about how the only thing that really gives us an advantage over other animals is our bipedalism + fancy brains, allowing us to build/make shit out of other shit. But completely unarmed, even a very fit and strong human is a pretty inept predator versus nearly any kind of wild game. So did early humans eat like, bugs and frogs, or what? Were they herbivorous, eating berries and grass and shit? **Or** are tools as old as humans are, and they were using them to hunt right out of the gate? Basically what I’m asking is was there anything before the “hunter-gatherer” - perhaps just bug-eating-gatherers? ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Love](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Dr.Love](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Love)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-early-humans-eat-before-inventing-tools/620571/2 "2012-05-01T22:50:29Z")
I’m not an expert, but I don’t think there were any tool-less humans. Tool use appears to be [as old as the genus Homo](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_evolution#Genus_Homo). Before that, it looks like the diet would have been similar to other great apes: plants and insects or other small animals. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-early-humans-eat-before-inventing-tools/620571/3 "2012-05-01T22:53:55Z")
Proto-humans probably also scavenged predator kills and ate not-too-old carrion when they could. If they were on the sea shore there might have been things exposed at low tide they could eat. ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-early-humans-eat-before-inventing-tools/620571/4 "2012-05-01T22:53:55Z")
You can catch a lot of prey even without tools - especially if you factor going after sick and injured prey. As an untrained urban kid, I could catch a lot of fresh and salt water-dwelling critters by hand, including fish, crayfish, frogs and crabs. I also caught my share of lizards on land. I’m sure someone who’s life depended on it could do much better than I could. Ducks and geese wouldn’t be all that hard to sneak up on, I think. There is a leading train of thought that early humans did a lot of hunting by exhausting their prey. So you keep a cow running until it collapses from exhaustion. There’s evidence that humans would chase large prey off of cliffs, which requires no tools. Of course, I would back all the way up to the premise of the question. Were there any humans who didn’t use tools? Even chimps use simple tools in nature, and proto-humans were making stone knives. There’s reason to believe our shoulder joints are extensively shaped by the need to throw projectiles accurately. I think a human who doesn’t use tools isn’t a human. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-early-humans-eat-before-inventing-tools/620571/5 "2012-05-01T23:04:24Z")
I’m confused. When did humans start eating tools? ---
**Author:** ![Weaver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Weaver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weaver)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-early-humans-eat-before-inventing-tools/620571/6 "2012-05-01T23:04:28Z")
> [@dracoi](#): > > You can catch a lot of prey even without tools - especially if you factor going after sick and injured prey. As an untrained urban kid, I could catch a lot of fresh and salt water-dwelling critters by hand, including fish, crayfish, frogs and crabs. I also caught my share of lizards on land. I’m sure someone who’s life depended on it could do much better than I could. Ducks and geese wouldn’t be all that hard to sneak up on, I think. > > There is a leading train of thought that early humans did a lot of hunting by exhausting their prey. So you keep a cow running until it collapses from exhaustion. > > There’s evidence that humans would chase large prey off of cliffs, which requires no tools. > > Of course, I would back all the way up to the premise of the question. Were there any humans who didn’t use tools? Even chimps use simple tools in nature, and proto-humans were making stone knives. There’s reason to believe our shoulder joints are extensively shaped by the need to throw projectiles accurately. I think a human who doesn’t use tools isn’t a human. I kind of agree with you there. Tool use is as much a part of us as claws and teeth are to a big cat. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-early-humans-eat-before-inventing-tools/620571/7 "2012-05-01T23:34:26Z")
> [@dracoi](#): > > There is a leading train of thought that early humans did a lot of hunting by exhausting their prey. So you keep a cow running until it collapses from exhaustion. Just a note; the uncertainty is about whether early humans did this (and perhaps if it was tied to the rise of bipedalism), not whether it’s done at all. \*Current \*humans still hunt this way: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/826HMLoiE_o/maxresdefault.jpg "The Intense 8 Hour Hunt | Attenborough Life of Mammals | BBC Earth") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=826HMLoiE_o) ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-early-humans-eat-before-inventing-tools/620571/8 "2012-05-01T23:54:13Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > I was thinking about how the only thing that really gives us an advantage over other animals is our bipedalism + fancy brains, allowing us to build/make shit out of other shit. Well that and the fact that we are impressively strong for our size, and astonishingly fast and have an ability to grapple and lift that is only shared by apes and endurance running abilities that will equal any animal on the planet and sight that is as good as anything in the world and… > [@](#): > > But completely unarmed, even a very fit and strong human is a pretty inept predator versus nearly any kind of wild game. I assume this is a joke. A human is perfectly effective against any animal up to half our size, and can take down most herbivores up to our own size with minimal difficulty. If they can be caught, small prey such as cats or rabbits take no effort at all to kill. Simply grab them and swing them into the ground as hard as possible. That will stun them. Then repeat until they are dead. It’s essentially risk free and doesn’t even take any training to do effectively. This is the standard human method pf capturing animals such as possums or rabbits that have taken refuge in hollow logs or tree stumps. Larger herbivores such as goats or deer can be physically knocked over relatively easily, allowing a human to harass them to exhaustion quite effectively. Combined with our astonishing running abilities, an unarmed human would be quite effective at hunting animals such as the smaller deer. So in that sense we are about on par with the dogs. Most dogs won’t singly attack prey that is more than about half their own size. > [@](#): > > So did early humans eat like, bugs and frogs, or what? What do you mean early humans? Bugs and frogs are a normal part of the human diet over large parts of the planet right now. > [@](#): > > Were they herbivorous, eating berries and grass and shit? Well, once again berries are a normal part of the human diet worldwide right now. Humans can’t digest grass, so no, of course humans never ate grass. And with the exception of really expensive coffee and German porn, humans do not eat shit. > [@](#): > > **Or** are tools as old as humans are, and they were using them to hunt right out of the gate? Since chimpanzees use tools to hunt, I think we can safely conclude that our common ancestors all used tools to hunt. > [@](#): > > Basically what I’m asking is was there anything before the “hunter-gatherer” - perhaps just bug-eating-gatherers? No. Even chimpanzees engage in regular hunts of large game animals such as monkeys and gazelles. So it’s safe to say that all our ancestor back to the last common ancestor with chimps also engaged in regular hunts against large game. ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e4f/32.png) [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_is_the_new_Analog)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2012, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-early-humans-eat-before-inventing-tools/620571/9 "2012-05-02T00:03:30Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > I’m confused. When did humans start eating tools? [You](http://www.etsy.com/listing/98203402/edible-tool-set?ref=sr_gallery_1&ga_includes%5B%5D=tags&ga_search_query=edible+tools&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery) [just](http://www.etsy.com/listing/97541620/12-tool-hammer-wrench-saw-lollipop?ref=sr_gallery_6&ga_includes%5B%5D=tags&ga_search_query=edible+tools&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery) [have](http://www.etsy.com/listing/74146201/tool-time-fathers-day-birthday-cookies?ref=sr_gallery_18&ga_includes%5B%5D=tags&ga_search_query=edible+tools&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery) [to](http://www.etsy.com/listing/90849449/one-dozen-tool-cookies?ref=sr_gallery_24&ga_includes%5B%5D=tags&ga_search_query=edible+tools&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery) look for [them](http://www.etsy.com/search?includes%5B%5D=tags&q=edible+tools).. -D/a ---
**Author:** ![Esox\_Lucius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/848f3c/32.png) [@Esox\_Lucius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esox_Lucius)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2012, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-early-humans-eat-before-inventing-tools/620571/10 "2012-05-02T01:54:59Z")
> [@dracoi](#): > > There is a leading train of thought that early humans did a lot of hunting by exhausting their prey. So you keep a cow running until it collapses from exhaustion. > > There’s evidence that humans would chase large prey off of cliffs, which requires no tools. Even if they didn’t need tools for hunting big animals, they must have had the necessary tools for butchering them or at least cutting the hide to get at the meat. I’d guess that the hunting of large prey came _after_ they had the tools to deal with the carcass. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2012, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-early-humans-eat-before-inventing-tools/620571/11 "2012-05-02T14:12:32Z")
> [@Blake](#): > > Well that and the fact that we are impressively strong for our size, and astonishingly fast and have an ability to grapple and lift that is only shared by apes and endurance running abilities that will equal any animal on the planet and sight that is as good as anything in the world and… Lots of animals see better than we do. I’d also argue that we’re not “astonishingly fast” - we do well at endurance running, yes, but our sprinting isn’t all that awesome. Trust me, I’ve run with my dog. Or, well, I run, he walks fast. ---
**Author:** ![Washoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecae2f/32.png) [@Washoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washoe)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2012, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-early-humans-eat-before-inventing-tools/620571/12 "2012-05-02T16:02:30Z")
> [@Blake](#): > > A human is perfectly effective against any animal up to half our size, and can take down most herbivores up to our own size with minimal difficulty. If they can be caught, small prey such as cats or rabbits take no effort at all to kill. You’re clearly never watched _Survivor_. A chicken can outsmart two lawyers, a gay hairdresser, and three pharmaceutical sales reps in bikinis all running after it with a machete and a fishing net. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2012, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-early-humans-eat-before-inventing-tools/620571/13 "2012-05-02T16:07:37Z")
Of course, remember that when we’re talking early man we’re not talking domesticated animals. Try that shit on an aurochs, why don’t you? ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2012, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-early-humans-eat-before-inventing-tools/620571/14 "2012-05-02T16:11:46Z")
Our primate cousins are a good indication. And if you hadn’t wasted your youth on learning how to program a VCR, but trained and trained at hunting with your tribe of tool-less proto-humans, you wouldn’t be an inept hunter, even with today’s physiology. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2012, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-early-humans-eat-before-inventing-tools/620571/15 "2012-05-02T16:28:44Z")
There is no such thing as a tool-less human. Our early Australopithecine ancestors used tools before they could be called human. An Australophithecine like Lucy had the cranial capacity of a chimpanzee, despite being bipidel and with hominid-like teeth. Bipedalism and tool use and hominid dentition happened long before our brains got bigger. So imagine a creature with a brain very similar to a chimp, who ate similar things to a chimp, except used sticks and rocks a lot more. Chimps hunt monkeys and other medium sized animals, our early ancestors did the same except they threw rocks and hit things with sticks. And they likely more frequently used hands and tools to prepare food for eating where a chimp would use their front teeth. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2012, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-early-humans-eat-before-inventing-tools/620571/16 "2012-05-02T18:33:09Z")
> [@Esox\_Lucius](#): > > Even if they didn’t need tools for hunting big animals, they must have had the necessary tools for butchering them or at least cutting the hide to get at the meat. I’d guess that the hunting of large prey came _after_ they had the tools to deal with the carcass. I’ve often wondered about this. I accept that early humans were able to run game until they dropped from exaustion. Maybe they crushed the animal’s skull with a rock to be sure it was dead - then what? I am trying to imagine an early human with a just killed antelope and his next move. Maybe they just took a bite including the fur and went from there? I am sure there are parts of the animal that are more thinly skinned that could be opened without the use of sharp tools. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2012, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-early-humans-eat-before-inventing-tools/620571/17 "2012-05-02T18:39:28Z")
You’ll note that predators often start with the soft belly. Birds start with the eyes. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2012, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-early-humans-eat-before-inventing-tools/620571/18 "2012-05-02T18:53:36Z")
You don’t need a very sharp tool to rip a hole in the skin. And then you use your hands to pull the skin apart. It isn’t hard unless you just killed a rhinocerous. A broken rock is plenty sharp enough, or a sharp stick. Or you could use your teeth to bite open a small incision, then use your fingers for the rest. You probably didn’t eat the hide unless you were starving. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2012, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-early-humans-eat-before-inventing-tools/620571/19 "2012-05-02T18:57:06Z")
Or you could do like wild dogs and start at the anus… ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2012, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-early-humans-eat-before-inventing-tools/620571/20 "2012-05-02T19:27:51Z")
> [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](#): > > [You](http://www.etsy.com/listing/98203402/edible-tool-set?ref=sr_gallery_1&ga_includes%5B%5D=tags&ga_search_query=edible+tools&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery) [just](http://www.etsy.com/listing/97541620/12-tool-hammer-wrench-saw-lollipop?ref=sr_gallery_6&ga_includes%5B%5D=tags&ga_search_query=edible+tools&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery) [have](http://www.etsy.com/listing/74146201/tool-time-fathers-day-birthday-cookies?ref=sr_gallery_18&ga_includes%5B%5D=tags&ga_search_query=edible+tools&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery) [to](http://www.etsy.com/listing/90849449/one-dozen-tool-cookies?ref=sr_gallery_24&ga_includes%5B%5D=tags&ga_search_query=edible+tools&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery) look for [them](http://www.etsy.com/search?includes%5B%5D=tags&q=edible+tools).. > -D/a Talk about your childhood wishes … [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-early-humans-eat-before-inventing-tools/620571.md?page=2)