Editing Australopithecus afarensis (section)

===Diet and technology===
''A. afarensis'' was likely a [[generalist and specialist species|generalist]] [[omnivore]]. [[Isotope analysis#Carbon-13|Carbon isotope analysis]] on teeth from Hadar and Dikika 3.4–2.9 million years ago suggests a widely ranging diet between different specimens, with forest-dwelling specimens showing a preference for [[C3 carbon fixation|C<sub>3</sub> forest plants]], and bush- or [[grassland]]-dwelling specimens a preference for [[C4 carbon fixation|C<sub>4</sub>]] [[Crassulacean acid metabolism|CAM]] savanna plants. C<sub>4</sub> CAM sources include grass, seeds, roots, underground [[storage organ]]s, [[succulents]] and perhaps creatures which ate those, such as [[termite]]s. Thus, ''A. afarensis'' appears to have been capable of exploiting a variety of food resources in a wide range of habitats. In contrast, the earlier ''A. anamensis'' and ''Ar. ramidus'', as well as modern savanna chimpanzees, target the same types of food as forest-dwelling counterparts despite living in an environment where these plants are much less abundant. Few modern primate species consume C<sub>4</sub> CAM plants.<ref>{{cite journal|first1=J. G.|last1=Wynn|first2=M.|last2=Sponheimer|first3=W. H.|last3=Kimbel|display-authors=et al.|year=2013|title=Diet of ''Australopithecus afarensis'' from the Pliocene Hadar Formation, Ethiopia|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|volume=110|issue=26|pages=10495–10500|doi=10.1073/pnas.1222559110|pmid=23733965|pmc=3696813|bibcode=2013PNAS..11010495W|doi-access=free}}</ref> The dental anatomy of ''A. afarensis'' is ideal for consuming hard, brittle foods, but microwearing patterns on the molars suggest that such foods were infrequently consumed, probably as fallback items in leaner times.<ref>{{cite journal|first=P.|last=Ungar|year=2004|title=Dental topography and diets of ''Australopithecus afarensis'' and early ''Homo''|journal=Journal of Human Evolution|volume=46|issue=5|pages=605–622|doi=10.1016/j.jhevol.2004.03.004|pmid=15120268|bibcode=2004JHumE..46..605U }}</ref>

In 2009 at Dikika, Ethiopia, a rib fragment belonging to a cow-sized [[ungulate|hoofed animal]] and a partial femur of a goat-sized juvenile [[bovid]] was found to exhibit cut marks, and the former some crushing, which were initially interpreted as the oldest evidence of butchering with stone tools. If correct, this would make it the oldest evidence of sharp-edged stone tool use at 3.4 million years old, and would be attributable to ''A. afarensis'' as it is the only species known within the time and place.<ref>{{cite journal|first1=S. P.|last1=McPherron|first2=Z.|last2=Alemseged|first3=C. W.|last3=Marean|display-authors=et al.|year=2010|title=Evidence for stone-tool-assisted consumption of animal tissues before 3.39 million years ago at Dikika, Ethiopia|journal=Nature|volume=466|issue=7308|pages=857–860|doi=10.1038/nature09248|pmid=20703305|bibcode=2010Natur.466..857M|s2cid=4356816}}</ref> However, because the fossils were found in a [[sandstone]] unit (and were modified by abrasive sand and gravel particles during the fossilisation process), the attribution to hominin activity is weak.<ref>{{cite journal|first1=M.|last1=Domínguez-Rodrigo|first2=T. R.|last2=Pickering|first3=H. T.|last3=Bunn|year=2010|title=Configurational approach to identifying the earliest hominin butchers|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|volume=107|issue=49|pages=20929–20934|doi=10.1073/pnas.1013711107|pmid=21078985|pmc=3000273|bibcode=2010PNAS..10720929D|doi-access=free}}</ref>