Taka
Fri, Mar-07-08, 17:16
Journal of Nutritional & Environmental Medicine, 2003
(Vol. 13) (No.
3) 143-147
What actually was the stone age diet?
Gowlett, J. A. J. Department of Archaeology, School of
Archaeology, Classics and Egyptology, William Hartley
Building, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 3GS, UK.
Purpose: In the last few years there has been considerable
talk of the 'Stone Age diet' as an attractive alternative to
the 'modern' diet. The underlying idea is that recent
distortions of diet are likely to be harmful and that, if we
can recover a primeval diet, we will live in closer harmony
with our digestive systems and their evolutionary
biochemistry. This paper aims to evaluate that set of ideas in
relation to the extensive and sometimes detailed records of
the past. Design: Comparative and direct palaeoanthropology
and archaeology. Methodology: To review evidence of the
comparative picture established by the nearest living
relations of hominids (extant apes), and of the deep view
given by the fossil records and archaeological evidence.
Results: The broad outline of the evolutionary record is
becoming increasingly clear: human ancestors diverged from the
last common ape ancestor about 8-10 million years ago. Since
then major stages of dietary evolution can be traced,
involving the incorporation of roots/ tubers and additional
meat into a previously largely fruit-based diet. Within the
last 2 million years, early humans colonized highly diverse
environments, including arctic regions where there was no
choice but to eat meat. Conclusions: There was no one Stone
Age diet. Overall, diets of the past varied greatly. The
adoption of agriculture within the last few thousand years led
to great changes in diet, especially concentration on single
cereals and milk.
PNAS | June 20, 2000 | vol. 97 | no. 13 | 7663-7666
Neanderthal diet at Vindija and Neanderthal predation: The
evidence from stable isotopes
URL: http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/full/97/13/7663
"Archeological analysis of faunal remains and of lithic and
bone tools has suggested that hunting of medium to large
mammals was a major element of Neanderthal subsistence. Plant
foods are almost invisible in the archeological record, and it
is impossible to estimate accurately their dietary importance.
However, stable isotope (delta 13C and delta 15N) analysis of
mammal bone collagen provides a direct measure of diet and has
been applied to two Neanderthals and various faunal species
from Vindija Cave, Croatia. The isotope evidence
overwhelmingly points to the Neanderthals behaving as
top-level carnivores, obtaining almost all of their dietary
protein from animal sources. Earlier Neanderthals in France
and Belgium have yielded similar results, and a pattern of
European Neanderthal adaptation as carnivores is emerging.
These data reinforce current taphonomic assessments of
associated faunal elements and make it unlikely that the
Neanderthals were acquiring animal protein principally through
scavenging. Instead, these findings portray them as effective
predators."
Jesus was not a Neanderthal ...
Taka
(Vol. 13) (No.
3) 143-147
What actually was the stone age diet?
Gowlett, J. A. J. Department of Archaeology, School of
Archaeology, Classics and Egyptology, William Hartley
Building, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 3GS, UK.
Purpose: In the last few years there has been considerable
talk of the 'Stone Age diet' as an attractive alternative to
the 'modern' diet. The underlying idea is that recent
distortions of diet are likely to be harmful and that, if we
can recover a primeval diet, we will live in closer harmony
with our digestive systems and their evolutionary
biochemistry. This paper aims to evaluate that set of ideas in
relation to the extensive and sometimes detailed records of
the past. Design: Comparative and direct palaeoanthropology
and archaeology. Methodology: To review evidence of the
comparative picture established by the nearest living
relations of hominids (extant apes), and of the deep view
given by the fossil records and archaeological evidence.
Results: The broad outline of the evolutionary record is
becoming increasingly clear: human ancestors diverged from the
last common ape ancestor about 8-10 million years ago. Since
then major stages of dietary evolution can be traced,
involving the incorporation of roots/ tubers and additional
meat into a previously largely fruit-based diet. Within the
last 2 million years, early humans colonized highly diverse
environments, including arctic regions where there was no
choice but to eat meat. Conclusions: There was no one Stone
Age diet. Overall, diets of the past varied greatly. The
adoption of agriculture within the last few thousand years led
to great changes in diet, especially concentration on single
cereals and milk.
PNAS | June 20, 2000 | vol. 97 | no. 13 | 7663-7666
Neanderthal diet at Vindija and Neanderthal predation: The
evidence from stable isotopes
URL: http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/full/97/13/7663
"Archeological analysis of faunal remains and of lithic and
bone tools has suggested that hunting of medium to large
mammals was a major element of Neanderthal subsistence. Plant
foods are almost invisible in the archeological record, and it
is impossible to estimate accurately their dietary importance.
However, stable isotope (delta 13C and delta 15N) analysis of
mammal bone collagen provides a direct measure of diet and has
been applied to two Neanderthals and various faunal species
from Vindija Cave, Croatia. The isotope evidence
overwhelmingly points to the Neanderthals behaving as
top-level carnivores, obtaining almost all of their dietary
protein from animal sources. Earlier Neanderthals in France
and Belgium have yielded similar results, and a pattern of
European Neanderthal adaptation as carnivores is emerging.
These data reinforce current taphonomic assessments of
associated faunal elements and make it unlikely that the
Neanderthals were acquiring animal protein principally through
scavenging. Instead, these findings portray them as effective
predators."
Jesus was not a Neanderthal ...
Taka