Food and Evolution: Toward a Theory of Human Food Habits

[Cover]......Page 1
[Title Page]......Page 4
[Copyright]......Page 5
Acknowledgements......Page 6
Contents......Page 8
Introduction......Page 12
Part I. Theoretical Overview......Page 16
1. An Overview of Trends in Dietary Vlriation from Hunter-Gatherer to Modern Capitalist Societies......Page 18
2. Foodways: Historical Overview and Theoretical Prolegomenon......Page 68
Part II. Bioevolutionary Antecedents and Constraints......Page 102
3. Primate Diets and Gut Morphology: Implications for Hominid Evolution......Page 104
4. Omnivorous Primate Diets and Human Overconsumption of Meat......Page 128
5. Fava Bean Consumption: A Case for the Co-Evolution of Genes and Culture......Page 144
Part III. Nutritional and Biopsychological Constraints......Page 172
6. Problems and Pitfalls in the Assessment of Human Nutritional Status......Page 174
7. Psychobiological Perspectives on Food Preferences and Avoidances......Page 192
8. The Preference for Animal Protein and Fat: A Cross-Cultural Survey......Page 218
9. Biocultural Consequences of Animals Versus Plants as Sources of Fats, Proteins, and Other Nutrients......Page 236
Part IV. Pre-State Foodways: Past and Present......Page 270
10. The Significance of Long-Term Changes in Human Diet and Food Economy......Page 272
11. Life in the "Garden of Eden": Causes and Consequences of the Adoption of Marine Diets byHuman Societies......Page 296
12. The Analysis of Hunter-Gatherer Diets: Stalking an Optimal Foraging Model......Page 322
13. How Much Food Do Foragers Need?......Page 352
14. Aboriginal Subsistence in a Tropical Rain Forest Environment: Food Procurement, Cannibalism, and Population Regulation in Northeastern Australia......Page 368
15. Ecological and Structural Influences on the Proportions of Wild Foods in the Diets of Two Machiguenga Communities......Page 398
16. Limiting Factors in Amazonian Ecology......Page 418
Part V. The Political Economy and the Political Ecology ofContemporary Foodways......Page 434
17. Loaves and Fishes in Bangladesh......Page 438
18. Animal Protein Consumption and the Sacred Cow Complex in India......Page 456
19. The Effects of Colonialism and Neocolonialism on the Gastronomic Patterns of the Third 'Vorld......Page 466
20. Stability and Change in Highland Andean Dietary Patterns......Page 492
21. Social Class and Diet in Contemporary Mexico......Page 528
22. From Costa Rican Pasture to North American Hamburger......Page 552
Part VI. Discussion and Conclusions......Page 574
23. The Evolution of Human Subsistence......Page 576
24. Biocultural Aspects of Food Choice......Page 590
Afterword......Page 606
About the Contributors......Page 612
Glossary......Page 618
Name Index......Page 624
Subject Index......Page 636