南非金山大学Lyn Wadley等研究人员发现，17万年前在非洲煮熟的淀粉类根茎。该项研究成果发表在2020年1月3日出版的《科学》杂志上。

研究人员发现，至少17万年前的早期人类对植物进行开发的证据。通过比较古代和现代根茎的形态和解剖学，研究人员将南非边境洞穴的烧焦的根茎鉴定为Hypoxis L.属。Hypoxis angustifolia Lam.（可能的分类群）在撒哈拉以南非洲和阿拉伯也门相对水密的地区扩散。在那些地区以及可能在潮湿时期更北的地区，Hypoxis的根茎可以为流动群体提供可靠和常见的碳水化合物来源。

据了解，植物碳水化合物在古代会被毫无疑问地用于食用，但是在考古学上很少保存淀粉类的植物。

附：英文原文

Title: Cooked starchy rhizomes in Africa 170 thousand years ago

Author: Lyn Wadley, Lucinda Backwell, Francesco d’Errico, Christine Sievers

Issue&Volume: 2020/01/03

Abstract: Plant carbohydrates were undoubtedly consumed in antiquity, yet starchy geophytes were seldom preserved archaeologically. We report evidence for geophyte exploitation by early humans from at least 170,000 years ago. Charred rhizomes from Border Cave, South Africa, were identified to the genus Hypoxis L. by comparing the morphology and anatomy of ancient and modern rhizomes. Hypoxis angustifolia Lam., the likely taxon, proliferates in relatively well-watered areas of sub-Saharan Africa and in Yemen, Arabia. In those areas and possibly farther north during moist periods, Hypoxis rhizomes would have provided reliable and familiar carbohydrate sources for mobile groups.

DOI: 10.1126/science.aaz5926

Source: https://science.sciencemag.org/content/367/6473/87