Paranthropus appeared in his remains
a southern man robust in cheek and jaw
who gathered nourishment from nature’s grains
and picking leaves and nuts then ate them raw.
His face did not seem gentle, yet contained
an intricate design to fit a niche
untouched by wilder creatures that remained
a coarsened treasure only in his reach.
But in his teeth, the hardest parts he grew,
we see the signs that adaptation, bland,
had led him to eat softer foods to chew
a niche abandoned for sweets close to hand.
Survival of the savory, cusp to root,
the strong nutcracker man was just a fruit.
Read the rest of the story of the soft hard man from Stony Brook.
