Interesting article in the Huff Post UK today - scientists in Australia have been studying the tooth enamel of Neanderthals (Homo neanderthalensis).
From the article:
Dr Laura Weyrich, author on the paper, said: “Genetic analysis of that DNA locked-up in plaque, represents a unique window into neanderthal lifestyle ― revealing new details of what they ate, what their health was like and how the environment impacted their behaviour.”
... neanderthals who lived in Spy Cave ate wooly rhinoceros and wild sheep ... those from the El Sidron cave ate a largely vegetarian diet of pine nuts, moss, mushrooms and tree bark.
And perhaps the most interesting: one of these vegetarian subjects had a dental abscess on his jawbone, and a diarrhea-causing parasite, and was self medicating with poplar - a plant that contains salicylic acid, the active ingredient in aspirin.
(http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/neanderthals-used-aspirin-to-self-medicate_uk_58c13a4fe4b0ed71826a4151?utm_hp_ref=uk; http://www.adelaide.edu.au/news/news91022.html).