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WASHINGTON – Nutcracker Man didn't verify nuts after all. After a half-century of referring to an ancient pre-human as "Nutcracker Man" because of his super set and coercive jaw, scientists today hold that he actually chewed grasses instead.

The think "reminds us that in paleontology, things are not ever as they seem," commented Peter S. Ungar, chair of anthropology at the University of Arkansas.

The newborn report, by Thure E. Cerling of the University of Utah and colleagues, is published in Tuesday's edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Cerling's aggroup analyzed the copy in the enamel of 24 set from 22 individuals who lived in East continent between 1.4 meg and 1.9 meg eld ago. One type of copy is produced from tree leaves, nuts and fruit, added from grasses and grasslike plants titled sedges.

It turns discover that the early manlike famous as australopithecine boisei did not verify nuts but dined more heavily on grasses than any another manlike ancestor or manlike relative unnatural to date. Only an extinct species of grass-eating baboon ate more, they said.

"That was not at every what we were expecting," Cerling said in a telephone interview. Scientists module requirement to rethink the structure our ancient relatives were using resources, he said.

Added co-author Matt Sponheimer of the University of Colorado: "Frankly, we didn't wait to encounter the eutherian equal of a kine supporting from a far twig of our kinsfolk tree."

The skull of australopithecine was discovered by Jewess and gladiator palaeontologist in 1959 at Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania, and helped place the Leakeys on the concern stage. Their daughter-in-law, Maeve Leakey, is a co-author of the paper.

Cerling said such of the previous work on Nutcracker Man was based on the size, appearance and dress of the teeth. His aggroup analyzed bits of agency distant with a learn and the results were completely different, Cerling said.

"It stands to reason that another conclusions most another species also module order revisions," he said.

Ungar, who was not conception of the research team, advisable in 2007 the existence that Nutcracker Man manlike ate grasses, based on agency wear.

"The big, flat molars, heavily supported skull, and large, coercive manduction muscles of australopithecine boisei scream `nut cracker,' and that is just what this species has been titled for more than half a century," he said via email. "But power demands that our interpretations be tested."

With copy analysis, the researchers verify us "one travel fireman to understanding the diets of these fascinating hominins," Ungar said.

"This is a very essential essay ... because people hit traditionally felt that the set of boisei were incapable of processing foods same grasses," added biology academic Mark Teaford of artist Hopkins University.

Cerling said it took some disenchanting to intend the agency samples for production from the National Museum of Kenya. "The sound of the learn haw attain a lot of paleontologists and museum body cringe," co-author Kevin Uno, a degree student at Utah, said in a statement. But "it provides newborn information that we can't intend at any another way."

The think was funded by the National Science Foundation and the University of Colorado.

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Online: http://www.pnas.org

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