Ancient populations were game for growth
By Bruce Bower
Recent investigations of genetic variation in living populations have suggested that the
numbers of Stone Age people rose sharply sometime between 100,000 and 50,000 years ago.
Better clues to the timing and extent of ancient population shifts may reside among the fossil
bones of tortoises, hares, and other small game that supplemented Stone Age diets.
“Many archaeologists may not have appreciated the unique potential of small-game data for
examining when and where [ancient population] increases took place,” say anthropologist Mary