Archaeologists from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Bar Ilan University recently found more than 9,000 plant remains in Israel from the Paleolithic period. The site of the findings is the oldest known area where humans controlled fire in Western Asia, indicating that many plants were cooked to make them edible. Researchers identified 55 different Paleolithic plant species in the area including tubers, nuts, seeds, fruit, leaves, stems, and roots, including seven edible species of plants found in surrounding Hula Lake. “In recent years, we were met with a golden opportunity to reveal numerous remains of fruit, nuts and seeds from trees, shrubs and the like, alongside the remains of animals and man-made stone tools in one locality,” professor Naama Goren-Inbar said. Last year, researchers at the University of Florence proved that the diet of people during the Paleolithic period was heavily reliant on oats, wild wheat, and other starches. These findings prove that the current “paleo diet”—which primarily focuses on animal protein and shuns grains—does not accurately reflect the dietary lifestyle of humans during the Paleolithic period.