Winter sources of ascorbic acid for Pleistocene hominins in northern Eurasia

Hominins emerging from Africa in the Pleistocene required sources of vitamins in addition to sources of energy and substance (carbohydrates, proteins and fats). Most of their vitamin requirements could be provided by eating the flesh of herbivores but vitamin C is in low concentrations in animal muscle tissue. Lack of vitamin C causes fatal disease of scurvy. In southern Eurasia hominins would have been able to harvest fruits and vegetables …