Plant food consumption among modern foragers informs Paleolithic dietary ecology

Summary

Reconstructing hominin diets is hindered by biases in the methods used to recover dietary information, and by our narrow interpretations of modern forager behavior. A better understanding of these limitations necessitates re-examination of dietary evidence in the archaeological record. Zooarchaeological and stable isotope data suggest that medium and large game dominated the diets of Middle and Upper Paleolithic foragers, and environmental reconstructions indicate that energetic returns from large game far exceeded returns from plants and smaller animals. Yet our studies of dental calculus from several Paleolithic populations demonstrate consumption of starchy plant foods. Furthermore, our data on plant food consumption among Hadza foragers of Tanzania and Twe foragers-horticulturalists of Namibia demonstrate that 1) caloric and biological value (digestibility) of plant foods are not always predictive of foraging strategy, and 2) microfossils in dental calculus present an incomplete record of plant consumption. These results indicate that we continue to underestimate the importance and presence of plants in ancient diets. We suggest that calories must have come from both plant and animal origin in Paleolithic Eurasia, not only to enable macronutrient balance, but also to ensure acquisition of essential micronutrients in the diet despite the lower energetic returns of plant food resources.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)   •
• Celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the Death of Primitive Economic Man: Nutritional Archaeology for the 21st Century

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