It appears they didn't even come close to following a balanced diet.

Using stable isotope analysis, researchers from the University of Sheffield and Bradford University in England found the woman ate nearly as much meat as a wolf.

Dubbed the Lady of Trent, the woman's thighbone was found during excavation of a gravel pit in a dried up channel of the River Trent in Staythorpe. Scientists believe the woman lived during the Mesolithic era.

Analysis of nitrogen isotopes in bone measure how much meat was present in a person's diet over a period of several years, and carbon isotopes can be used to measure the amount of marine or land-based food sources in the diet, according to the University of Sheffield archaeologist who found the bone, Glyn Davies.

"For the meat, her nitrogen figure was 9.3. For comparison, a cow would have a figure of about six and a carnivore like a wolf around 10 or more," says Davies. "This suggests that her diet included a lot of meat, but would have included some plants."

Davies says the Lady of Trent ate no marine life, which wasn't surprising because she lived 35 miles from the coast.

The archaeologists also found bones from deer and wild cattle near the woman's thighbone. These animal bones had cut marks on them, suggesting they had been butchered, Davies says.

Of course, just because our ancestors might have eaten this way, it doesn't necessarily mean it's a healthier way to live.

"Our ancestors made due with what they had to eat," says New York University nutritionist Samantha Heller, explaining that other research has found people who lived near the coast ate mostly fish.

Humans live much longer lives now, Heller points out. Our ancestors probably died long before heart disease, diabetes or cancer would have set in, she says. Plus, they were much more physically active than people are today.

Most important, she says, this is only the bone of one woman, and you can't judge the diet of an entire people by one person.

If you want to stay healthy, avoid the Lady of Trent's diet, Heller advises. Eat a mostly plant-based diet with lots of vegetables, legumes and whole grains.

"Don't eat a lot of full-fat animal products. We know that a high consumption of saturated fat and cholesterol greatly increases our risk of heart disease," she adds.

What To Do

To learn more about the Mesolithic period and what people might have eaten back then, visit the University of Leicester or the Chichester District Museum.