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Australopithecus Drank Breast Milk for Years to Survive Food Shortages

By Roni Dengler
Jul 16, 2019 3:30 PMDec 23, 2019 5:16 AM
An artist’s depiction of Lucy, the world’s most famous Australopithecus africanus.
An artist’s depiction of Lucy, the world’s most famous Australopithecus africanus. (Credit: Greg Grabowski/Shutterstock)

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In the savannah of southern Africa three million years ago, an early human species known as Australopithecus africanus roamed the tropical grasslands chomping on a diverse diet of fruits, leaves and roots. The hominins ate well when the land was ripe with bounty, but seasonal rains and lengthy dry spells meant food was often scarce.

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