Lec 16 Flashcards
(11 cards)
Stable Isotope Analysis?
- bones + teeth
- delta 13C vs delta 15N (c3+c4 plants vs trophic level/animal consumption
-limits: beyond 100kya, degradation present
Dental Microwear Analysis?
- tooth enamel wear
1. ex: Paran. didn’t actually eat nuts?
b/c of - pit frequency + scratches
does not reflect long term dietary patterns (days-weeks only) - foods contained silica, which is a tough element and can be misleading
Phytolith Analysis?
- plaque, scraped from teeth
- only confirms consumption, not proportion
- contamination from enviro, context needed
Diets of early Australopithecines?
Afarensis - ~3.9-2.9mya
Africanus - ~3.3-2.1mya
- plant based (fruits, leaves + seeds), used storage organs like roots, animals consumed opportunistically
-mix of c3 plants + c4 plants, africanus in particular showed notable evidence of c4 plant consumption, suggesting open vegetation
Paranthropus Diet?
- 2-1.2mya, S. Africa
- initially believed to eat tough plants materials like nuts + seeds b/c of jaw + teeth.
- evidence suggests they ate c4 plants
-Boisei shows evidence similar to grazing herbivores
-minimal evidence for extensive hard-food consumption, foods were tough but NOT HARD.
Homo Habilis Diet?
~2.8-1.5mya, E + S. Africa
omnivorous, clear evidence of tool-assisted meat consumption
-Bouri formation, Ethiopia (~2.5mya)
- Kanjera South, Kenya (~2mya)
- Oldupai Gorge (1.8mya)
-clear cut marks + percussion dmg
-low enamel pitting = low in hard foods, but had fibrous + tough foods
-microwear patterns = more variable/omnivorous diet
Cooking Hypothesis/Dietary Impact on H. Erectus?
- higher quality diet linked to bigger brain + smaller gut
-fire improved calorie intake, greater energy efficiency - Anatomy shows flexible diets + likely contributed to widespread expansion
Homo Sapiens in S. Africa?
~164kya
- omnivorous diet, had land + water resources
- shell middens highly present, suggesting importance in diet
- elevated nitrogen isotope values
- heat treated silcrete stone tools = advanced cognitive abilities
- dietary innovations required during glacial periods
Neolithic Societies?
- agriculture + domestication of plants
- increase in cereals, legumes + animal dependance
- carbon isotope found in early bones @ early sites like Catal Hoyuk
-carbonized plant seeds, storage pits confirm data - dental cavities increase + hypoplasia from nutritional stress
Banpo, China?
~5k-4k BCE
- intensive millet cultivation (foxtail + broomcorn millet)
- storage pits filed w/ millet grains = increase reliance on cereals
- increase reliance on c4 plants + domesticated animals + limited wild plants
Impact on Human Health?
- shift to agriculture = health consequences, b/c of increase reliance on carbs, grain based diets, + decreased dietary diversity
- sharp increase in dental problems: cavities, tooth loss, periodontal disease
- Porotic Hyperostosis (anemia + iron deficiencies), indicates overall poorer nutrition compared to hunter-gatherers
