At this preliminary stage of ancient microbiome research, many finding make it sound like humanity has fallen from a primordial, pre-technological grace.
But Lewis and Warinneragree it's way too early to dive into trendy paleo diets or consider abandoning unquestionably life-saving antibiotics.
The overall evolutionary story of the human microbiome and any cautionary tales therein will likely prove as complicated as the rise of our species itself, for we are one and the same.
"Only by exploring our microbiomes today and in the past," Warinner says, "can we fully understand what it means to be human.