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Perlman RF, Beehner JC, Koenig A, Lu A. Consumption of underground storage organs is associated with improved energetic status in a graminivorous primate. J Hum Evol 2024; 192:103545. [PMID: 38843698 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2024.103545] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2023] [Revised: 04/07/2024] [Accepted: 04/14/2024] [Indexed: 06/23/2024]
Abstract
Early hominin species likely had access to open, grassy habitats where periodic reliance on underground storage organs (USOs) is hypothesized to have played a crucial dietary role. As the only living graminivorous primate today, geladas (Theropithecus gelada) provide a unique perspective for understanding the energetic consequences of seasonal consumption of USOs. Geladas rely heavily on above-ground grasses throughout the year, but when grass is seasonally less available, they feed more on USOs. To assess whether USOs fit the definition of fallback foods (i.e., foods that are difficult to access, less preferred, or both), we examined how foraging effort (measured via time spent feeding and moving) and energetic status (measured via urinary C-peptide) fluctuated during seasonal dietary changes in a population of wild geladas in the Simien Mountains National Park, Ethiopia. If, indeed, USOs are fallback foods, we predicted an increase in foraging effort and a decline in energetic status during the dry season, when geladas rely more heavily on USOs. We collected behavioral and physiological data from 13 adult gelada males across a 13-month period. As expected, we found that male geladas spent more time moving during drier months. However, counter to the hypothesis that USOs are fallback foods in geladas, urinary C-peptide concentrations were significantly higher during the dry season. We suggest that USOs may represent an energy-rich food item for geladas, but it remains unclear why USOs are not consumed year-round. Future work is needed to better understand seasonal variation in the availability, nutrient content, and digestibility of USOs. However, results indicate that exploiting USOs seasonally could have been a valuable dietary strategy for the evolutionary success of early hominins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachel F Perlman
- Interdepartmental Doctoral Program in Anthropological Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-4364, USA; Program for Research Initiatives in Science & Math, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York, New York, NY 10019, USA.
| | - Jacinta C Beehner
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1043, USA; Department of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1107, USA
| | - Andreas Koenig
- Interdepartmental Doctoral Program in Anthropological Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-4364, USA; Department of Anthropology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-4364, USA
| | - Amy Lu
- Interdepartmental Doctoral Program in Anthropological Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-4364, USA; Department of Anthropology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-4364, USA.
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2
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Valença T, Oliveira Affonço G, Falótico T. Wild capuchin monkeys use stones and sticks to access underground food. Sci Rep 2024; 14:10415. [PMID: 38710945 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-61243-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2024] [Accepted: 05/02/2024] [Indexed: 05/08/2024] Open
Abstract
Primates employ different tools and techniques to overcome the challenges of obtaining underground food resources. Humans and chimpanzees are known to tackle this problem with stick tools and one population of capuchin monkeys habitually uses stone tools. Although early hominids could have used stones as digging tools, we know little about when and how these could be useful. Here, we report a second primate population observed using stone tools and the first capuchin monkey population to habitually use the 'stick-probing' technique for obtaining underground resources. The bearded capuchin monkeys (Sapajus libidinosus) from Ubajara National Park, Brazil, use 'hands-only' and 'stone-digging' techniques for extracting underground storage organs and trapdoor spiders. Males also use 'stick-probing' and 'stone-stick' techniques for capturing trapdoor spiders. Tool use does not increase success in obtaining these resources. Stone-digging is less frequent in this population than in the only other known population that uses this technique. Females use stones in a lower proportion of their digging episodes than males in both populations. Ecological and cultural factors potentially influence technique choice and sex differences within and between populations. This population has a different pattern of underground food exploration using tools. Comparing this population with others and exploring the ecological and cultural factors under which capuchin monkeys employ different tools and techniques will allow us to better understand the pressures that may have shaped the evolution of those behaviors in primates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tatiane Valença
- University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
- Capuchin Culture Project, Neotropical Primates Research Group, São Paulo, Brazil.
- Department for the Ecology of Animal Societies, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Konstanz, Germany.
| | - Gabriela Oliveira Affonço
- University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
- Capuchin Culture Project, Neotropical Primates Research Group, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Tiago Falótico
- University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
- Capuchin Culture Project, Neotropical Primates Research Group, São Paulo, Brazil
- Technological Primates Research Group, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
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3
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Pan H, Hou R, Zhang H, Li Y, Huang Z, Cui L, Xiao W. Surviving at the highest and coldest: Nutritional and chemical components of fallback foods for Yunnan snub-nosed monkeys. Ecol Evol 2024; 14:e11219. [PMID: 38628920 PMCID: PMC11019302 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.11219] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2023] [Revised: 03/06/2024] [Accepted: 03/20/2024] [Indexed: 04/19/2024] Open
Abstract
Fallback foods (FBF), categorized into staple and filler types, are suboptimal food sources chosen by animals in response to a scarcity of preferred food items during specific periods. Using lichens as FBF by Yunnan snub-nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus bieti) represents a distinctive ecological adaptation and evolutionary development within nonhuman primates. This study delves into the annual dietary choices of the species to address issues, elucidate the nutritional value, and understand the ecological significance of lichens for this primate species, which resides at the highest altitudes and experiences the coldest weather among global primates. The findings reveal that the lichens consumed by the monkeys serve as the staple FBF, with Bryoria spp. and Usnea longissima being the primary dietary species. The former is the preferred choice, providing higher digestible fiber (neutral detergent fiber) levels but lower tannin, fat, ADF, and energy levels. During the dry season, lichens dominate as the monkeys' primary food and nutritional resources. In the wet season, they act as a fundamental food selection rather than an ideal dietary choice, substituting nutrients from fruits, seeds, and leaves. Compared to other Asian colobine counterparts, this species exhibits the highest lichen consumption but the lowest proportions of leaves, flowers, and seeds. This study provides valuable evidence and information for developing or amending conservation strategies and guidelines for the dietary management of captive breeding of monkeys, one of the world's critically endangered primate species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hao Pan
- Institute of Eastern‐Himalaya Biodiversity ResearchDali UniversityDaliYunnanChina
- Shaanxi Key Laboratory for Animal Conservation, College of Life SciencesNorthwest UniversityXi'anChina
- International Centre of Biodiversity and Primates ConservationDali UniversityDaliYunnanChina
| | - Rong Hou
- Shaanxi Key Laboratory for Animal Conservation, College of Life SciencesNorthwest UniversityXi'anChina
| | - He Zhang
- Shaanxi Key Laboratory for Animal Conservation, College of Life SciencesNorthwest UniversityXi'anChina
| | - Yanpeng Li
- Institute of Eastern‐Himalaya Biodiversity ResearchDali UniversityDaliYunnanChina
- Collaborative Innovation Center for Biodiversity and Conservation in the Three Parallel Rivers Region of ChinaDaliYunnanChina
| | - Zhipang Huang
- Institute of Eastern‐Himalaya Biodiversity ResearchDali UniversityDaliYunnanChina
- International Centre of Biodiversity and Primates ConservationDali UniversityDaliYunnanChina
- Collaborative Innovation Center for Biodiversity and Conservation in the Three Parallel Rivers Region of ChinaDaliYunnanChina
- Key Laboratory for Conserving Wildlife with Small Populations in YunnanSouthwest Forestry UniversityKunmingChina
| | - Liangwei Cui
- Key Laboratory for Conserving Wildlife with Small Populations in YunnanSouthwest Forestry UniversityKunmingChina
- Yunling Black‐and‐White Snub‐Nosed Monkey Observation and Research Station of Yunnan ProvinceDaliYunnanChina
| | - Wen Xiao
- Institute of Eastern‐Himalaya Biodiversity ResearchDali UniversityDaliYunnanChina
- International Centre of Biodiversity and Primates ConservationDali UniversityDaliYunnanChina
- Collaborative Innovation Center for Biodiversity and Conservation in the Three Parallel Rivers Region of ChinaDaliYunnanChina
- Yunling Black‐and‐White Snub‐Nosed Monkey Observation and Research Station of Yunnan ProvinceDaliYunnanChina
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Ruiz-Giralt A, Nixon-Darcus L, D’Andrea AC, Meresa Y, Biagetti S, Lancelotti C. On the verge of domestication: Early use of C 4 plants in the Horn of Africa. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2300166120. [PMID: 37364120 PMCID: PMC10319037 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2300166120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2023] [Accepted: 05/17/2023] [Indexed: 06/28/2023] Open
Abstract
The earliest evidence of agriculture in the Horn of Africa dates to the Pre-Aksumite period (ca. 1600 BCE). Domesticated C3 cereals are considered to have been introduced from the Near East, whereas the origin (local or not) and time of domestication of various African C4 species such as sorghum, finger millet, or t'ef remain unknown. In this paper, we present the results of the analysis of microbotanical residues (starch and phytoliths) from grinding stones recovered from two archaeological sites in northeastern Tigrai (Ethiopia), namely Mezber and Ona Adi. Together, both sites cover a time period that encompasses the earliest evidence of agriculture in the region (ca. 1600 BCE) to the fall of the Kingdom of Aksum (ca. 700 CE). Our data indicate that these communities featured complex mixed economies which included the consumption of both domestic and wild plant products since the Initial Pre-Aksumite Phase (ca. 1600 to 900 BCE), including C3 crops and legumes, but also C4 cereals and geophytes. These new data expand the record of C4 plant use in the Horn of Africa to over 1,000 y. It also represents the first evidence for the consumption of starchy products in the region. These results have parallels in the wider northeastern African region where complex food systems have been documented. Altogether, our data represent a significant challenge to our current knowledge of Pre-Aksumite and Aksumite economies, forcing us to rethink the way we define these cultural horizons.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abel Ruiz-Giralt
- Departament de Humanitats, Culture, Archaeology and Socio-Ecological Dynamics, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona08005, Spain
| | - Laurie Nixon-Darcus
- Department of Archaeology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BCV5A 1S6, Canada
| | | | - Yemane Meresa
- Department of Archaeology and Heritage Management, Aksum University, Aksum7080, Ethiopia
| | - Stefano Biagetti
- Departament de Humanitats, Culture, Archaeology and Socio-Ecological Dynamics, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona08005, Spain
- School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg2000, South Africa
| | - Carla Lancelotti
- Departament de Humanitats, Culture, Archaeology and Socio-Ecological Dynamics, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona08005, Spain
- ICREA, Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies, Barcelona08010, Spain
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5
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Goldfarb G, Sela Y. The Ideal Diet for Humans to Sustainably Feed the Growing Population - Review, Meta-Analyses, and Policies for Change. F1000Res 2023; 10:1135. [PMID: 37928317 PMCID: PMC10623543 DOI: 10.12688/f1000research.73470.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/26/2023] [Indexed: 11/07/2023] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION As of now, no study has combined research from different sciences to determine the most suitable diet for humans. This issue is urgent due to the predicted population growth, the effect of this on the environment, and the deterioration of human health and associated costs. METHODS A literature review determined whether an optimal diet for humans exists and what such a diet is, followed by six meta-analyses. The standard criteria for conducting meta-analyses of observational studies were followed. A review of literature reporting Hazard Ratios with a 95% confidence interval for red meat intake, dairy intake, plant-based diet, fiber intake, and serum IGF-1 levels were extracted to calculate effect sizes. RESULTS Results calculated using NCSS software show that high meat consumption increases mortality probability by 18% on average and increases diabetes risk by 50%. Plant-based and high-fiber diets decrease mortality by 15% and 20% respectively ( p < .001). Plant-based diets decreased diabetes risk by 27%, and dairy consumption (measured by increased IGF-1 levels) increased cancer probability by 48% ( p < 0.01). A vegetarian or Mediterranean diet was not found to decrease the probability of heart disease. A vegetarian diet can be healthy or not, depending on the foods consumed. A Mediterranean diet with high quantities of meat and dairy products will not produce the health effects desired. The main limitations of the study were that observational studies were heterogeneous and limited by potential confounders. DISCUSSION The literature and meta-analyses point to an optimal diet for humans that has followed our species from the beginnings of humankind. The optimal diet is a whole food, high fiber, low-fat, 90+% plant-based diet. This diet allowed humans to become the most developed species on Earth. To ensure people's nutritional needs are met healthily and sustainably, governmental dietary interventions are necessary.
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Affiliation(s)
- Galit Goldfarb
- Nutrition, OUS University, The Royal Academy of Economics and Technology, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Yaron Sela
- Nutrition, OUS University, The Royal Academy of Economics and Technology, Zürich, Switzerland
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Fannin LD, Swedell L, McGraw WS. Enamel chipping and its ecological correlates in African papionins: Implications for hominin feeding behavior. J Hum Evol 2023; 177:103330. [PMID: 36898301 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2023.103330] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2022] [Revised: 01/23/2023] [Accepted: 01/25/2023] [Indexed: 03/12/2023]
Abstract
African papionins are classic paleoecological referents for fossil hominins. Enamel chips on the teeth of baboons and hominins are argued to represent responses to similar dietary habits; however, a comprehensive analysis of modern papionin chipping is lacking, leaving open the question of analog suitability. Here, we investigate patterns of antemortem enamel chipping across a diverse set of African papionin species occupying a range of ecological niches. We compare papionin chipping frequencies to estimates for Plio-Pleistocene hominins to address hypotheses of habitat and/or dietary similarities. Antemortem chips in seven African papionin species were scored on intact postcanine teeth (P3-M3) using established protocols. Chip size was scored on a tripartite scale. Papio hamadryas and Papio ursinus-two common paleoecological referents-display higher levels of chipping than Plio-Pleistocene hominin taxa (Australopithecus and Paranthropus) posited to have similar dietary habits. Papio populations occupying dry or highly seasonal habitats accumulate more large chips than Papio taxa occupying more mesic habitats, and terrestrial papionins chip their teeth more often than closely related taxa occupying arboreal niches. Chipping is present on the teeth of all Plio-Pleistocene hominins; however, chipping in baboons (P. ursinus and P. hamadryas) consistently exceeds most hominin taxa. Chipping frequencies on their own do not reliably sort taxa into major dietary groupings. We conclude that the large differences in chipping frequency may instead reflect habitat use and food processing idiosyncrasies. Less chipping in Plio-Pleistocene hominin teeth compared to modern Papio is more likely attributable to differences in dental morphology rather than diet.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luke D Fannin
- Department of Anthropology, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, 03755, USA; Graduate Program in Ecology, Evolution, Environment, and Society, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, 03755, USA.
| | - Larissa Swedell
- Department of Anthropology, Queens College, City University of New York, Flushing, NY, 11367, USA; Anthropology Program, Graduate Center, City University of New York, New York, NY, 10016, USA; New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, NY, 10016, USA; Department of Archaeology, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, Western Cape, 7700, South Africa
| | - W Scott McGraw
- Department of Anthropology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, 43210, USA
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Veen J, Jang H, Raubenheimer D, van Pinxteren BOCM, Kandza V, Meirmans PG, van Dam NM, Dunker S, Hoffmann P, Worrich A, Janmaat KRL. Development of embodied capital: Diet composition, foraging skills, and botanical knowledge of forager children in the Congo Basin. Front Ecol Evol 2023. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2023.935987] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/10/2023] Open
Abstract
The embodied capital theory states that the extended juvenile period has enabled human foragers to acquire the complex foraging skills and knowledge needed to obtain food. Yet we lack detailed data on how forager children develop these skills and knowledge. Here, we examine the seasonal diet composition, foraging behavior, and botanical knowledge of Mbendjele BaYaka forager children in the Republic of the Congo. Our data, acquired through long-term observations involving full-day focal follows, show a high level of seasonal fluctuation in diet and foraging activities of BaYaka children, in response to the seasonal availability of their food sources. BaYaka children foraged more than half of the time independent from adults, predominantly collecting and eating fruits, tubers, and seeds. For these most-consumed food types, we found an early onset of specialization of foraging skills in children, similar to the gendered division in foraging in adults. Specifically, children were more likely to eat fruit and seed species when there were more boys and men in the group, and girls were more likely than boys to collect tuber species. In a botanical knowledge test, children were more accurate at identifying plant food species with increasing age, and they used fruits and trunks for species identification, more so than using leaves and barks. These results show how the foraging activities of BaYaka children may facilitate the acquisition of foraging skills and botanical knowledge and provide insights into the development of embodied capital. Additionally, BaYaka children consumed agricultural foods more than forest foods, probably reflecting BaYaka’s transition into a horticultural lifestyle. This change in diet composition may have significant consequences for the cognitive development of BaYaka children.
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8
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Bone-related behaviours of captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) during two excavating experiments. Primates 2023; 64:35-46. [PMID: 36401675 PMCID: PMC9842580 DOI: 10.1007/s10329-022-01033-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2021] [Accepted: 10/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
After stone tools, bone tools are the most abundant artefact type in the Early Pleistocene archaeological record. That said, they are still relatively scarce, which limits our understanding of the behaviours that led to their production and use. Observations of extant primates constitute a unique source of behavioural data with which to construct hypotheses about the technological forms and repertoires exhibited by our hominin ancestors. We conducted two different experiments to investigate the behavioural responses of two groups of captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes; n = 33 and n = 9) to disarticulated, defleshed, ungulate bones while participating in a foraging task aimed at eliciting excavating behaviour. Each chimpanzee group was provided with bone specimens with different characteristics, and the two groups differed in their respective experience levels with excavating plant tools. We found that several individuals from the inexperienced group used the provided bones as tools during the task. In contrast, none of the individuals from the experienced group used bones as excavating tools, but instead continued using plant tools. These chimpanzees also performed non-excavating bone behaviours such as percussion and tool-assisted extraction of organic material from the medullary cavity. Our findings serve as a proof-of-concept that chimpanzees can be used to investigate spontaneous bone tool behaviours such as bone-assisted excavation. Furthermore, our results raise interesting questions regarding the role that bone characteristics, as well as previous tool-assisted excavating experience with other raw materials, might have in the expression of bone tool-assisted excavation.
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9
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Marino FE, Sibson BE, Lieberman DE. The evolution of human fatigue resistance. J Comp Physiol B 2022; 192:411-422. [PMID: 35552490 PMCID: PMC9197885 DOI: 10.1007/s00360-022-01439-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2021] [Revised: 03/28/2022] [Accepted: 04/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Humans differ from African great apes in numerous respects, but the chief initial difference setting hominins on their unique evolutionary trajectory was habitual bipedalism. The two most widely supported selective forces for this adaptation are increased efficiency of locomotion and improved ability to feed in upright contexts. By 4 million years ago, hominins had evolved the ability to walk long distances but extreme selection for endurance capabilities likely occurred later in the genus Homo to help them forage, power scavenge and persistence hunt in hot, arid conditions. In this review we explore the hypothesis that to be effective long-distance walkers and especially runners, there would also have been a strong selective benefit among Homo to resist fatigue. Our hypothesis is that since fatigue is an important factor that limits the ability to perform endurance-based activities, fatigue resistance was likely an important target for selection during human evolution for improved endurance capabilities. We review the trade-offs between strength, power, and stamina in apes and Homo and discuss three biological systems that we hypothesize humans evolved adaptations for fatigue resistance: neurological, metabolic and thermoregulatory. We conclude that the evolution of endurance at the cost of strength and power likely also involved the evolution of mechanisms to resist fatigue.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frank E Marino
- School of Allied Health, Exercise and Sport Science, Charles Sturt University, Bathurst, NSW, 2795, Australia.
| | - Benjamin E Sibson
- Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, 11 Divinity Ave, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA
| | - Daniel E Lieberman
- Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, 11 Divinity Ave, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA
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10
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Stancampiano LM, Sistiaga A, Del Val DU, Aramendi J, Baquedano E, Mabulla A, Domínguez-Rodrigo M, Magill CR. New site at Olduvai Gorge (AGS, Bed I, 1.84 Mya) widens the range of locations where hominins engaged in butchery. Sci Rep 2022; 12:9794. [PMID: 35697774 PMCID: PMC9192694 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-14031-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2022] [Accepted: 05/31/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Outstanding questions about human evolution include systematic connections between critical landscape resources-such as water and food-and how these shaped the competitive and biodiverse environment(s) that our ancestors inhabited. Here, we report fossil n-alkyl lipid biomarkers and their associated δ13C values across a newly discovered Olduvai Gorge site (AGS) dated to 1.84 million years ago, enabling a multiproxy analysis of the distributions of critical local landscape resources across an explicit locus of hominin activity. Our results reveal that AGS was a seasonally waterlogged, largely unvegetated lakeside site situated near an ephemeral freshwater river surrounded by arid-adapted C4 grasses. The sparse vegetation at AGS contrasts with reconstructed (micro)habitats at the other anthropogenic sites at Olduvai Gorge, suggesting that central-provisioning places depended more heavily on water access than vegetation viz. woody plants as is often observed for modern hunter-gatherers. As hominins at AGS performed similar butchering activities as at other Bed I sites, our results suggest they did not need the shelter of trees and thus occupied a competitive position within the predatory guild.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Ainara Sistiaga
- University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, USA
| | - David Uribelarrea Del Val
- Institute of Evolution in Africa (IDEA), University of Alcalá, Madrid, Spain
- Complutense University, Madrid, Spain
| | | | - Enrique Baquedano
- Institute of Evolution in Africa (IDEA), University of Alcalá, Madrid, Spain
- Regional Archaeological Museum of the Community of Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Audax Mabulla
- University of Dar es Salaam, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
| | - Manuel Domínguez-Rodrigo
- Institute of Evolution in Africa (IDEA), University of Alcalá, Madrid, Spain
- Department of Anthropology, Rice University, Houston, TX, 77005-1827, USA
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Abstract
AbstractExtractive foraging tasks, such as digging, are broadly practiced among hunter-gatherer populations in different ecological conditions. Despite tuber-gathering tasks being widely practiced by children and adolescents, little research has focused on the physical traits associated with digging ability. Here, we assess how age and energetic expenditure affect the performance of this extractive task. Using an experimental approach, the energetic cost of digging to extract simulated tubers is evaluated in a sample of 40 urban children and adolescents of both sexes to measure the intensity of the physical effort and the influence of several anatomical variables. Digging is a moderately vigorous activity for inexperienced girls and boys from 8 to 14 years old, and it requires significant physical effort depending on strength and body size. However, extracting subterranean resources is a task that may be performed effectively without previous training. Sex-specific and age-specific differences in the net energy expenditure of digging were detected, even though both sexes exhibited similar proficiency levels when performing the task. Our results highlight that both boys and girls spend considerable energy while digging, with differences largely driven by body size and age. Other factors beyond ability and experience, such as strength and body size, may influence the proficiency of juveniles in performing certain physically intensive foraging tasks, such as gathering tubers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Mateos
- National Research Center On Human Evolution (CENIEH), 09002, Burgos, Spain.
| | | | - Jesús Rodríguez
- National Research Center On Human Evolution (CENIEH), 09002, Burgos, Spain
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12
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Mercader J, Belev G, Bushozi P, Clarke S, Favreau J, Itambu M, Jianfeng Z, Koromo S, Larter F, Lee P, Maley J, Fernández-Marchena JL, Mohamed A, Mwambwiga A, Ngisaruni B, Kingi M, Olesilau L, Patalano R, Pedergnana A, Sammynaiken R, Siljedal J, Soto M, Tucker L, Walde D, Ollé A. Microbotanical residues for the study of early hominin tools. Sci Rep 2022; 12:2951. [PMID: 35194092 PMCID: PMC8863820 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-06959-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2021] [Accepted: 02/08/2022] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
More than 2 million years ago in East Africa, the earliest hominin stone tools evolved amidst changes in resource base, with pounding technology playing a key role in this adaptive process. Olduvai Gorge (now Oldupai) is a famed locality that remains paramount for the study of human evolution, also yielding some of the oldest battering tools in the world. However, direct evidence of the resources processed with these technologies is lacking entirely. One way to obtain this evidence is through the analysis of surviving residues. Yet, linking residues with past processing activities is not simple. In the case of plant exploitation, this link can only be established by assessing site-based reference collections inclusive of both anthropogenic and natural residues as a necessary first step and comparative starting point. In this paper, we assess microbotanical remains from rock clasts sourced at the same quarry utilized by Oldowan hominins at Oldupai Gorge. We mapped this signal and analysed it quantitatively to classify its spatial distribution objectively, extracting proxies for taxonomic identification and further comparison with freestanding soils. In addition, we used blanks to manufacture pounding tools for blind, controlled replication of plant processing. We discovered that stone blanks are in fact environmental reservoirs in which plant remains are trapped by lithobionts, preserved as hardened accretions. Tool use, on the other hand, creates residue clusters; however, their spatial distribution can be discriminated from purely natural assemblages by the georeferencing of residues and statistical analysis of resulting patterns. To conclude, we provide a protocol for best practice and a workflow that has the advantage of overcoming environmental noise, reducing the risk of false positive, delivering a firm understanding of residues as polygenic mixtures, a reliable use of controls, and most importantly, a stronger link between microbotanical remains and stone tool use.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julio Mercader
- Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive NW, Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4, Canada. .,Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES-CERCA), Zona Educacional 4, Campus Sescelades URV (Edifici W3), 43007, Tarragona, Spain. .,Department of Geoscience, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive NW, Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4, Canada. .,Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Kahlaische Strasse 10, 07745, Jena, Germany.
| | - George Belev
- Saskatchewan Structural Sciences Centre, Rm. G81 Thorvaldson Building 110 Science Place, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 5C9, Canada
| | - Pastory Bushozi
- Department of Archaeology and Heritage Studies, University of Dar Es Salaam, PO Box 35091, Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania
| | - Siobhán Clarke
- Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive NW, Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4, Canada
| | - Julien Favreau
- Department of Anthropology, McMaster University, 100 Main St W, Hamilton, ON, L8P 1H6, Canada
| | - Makarius Itambu
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Kahlaische Strasse 10, 07745, Jena, Germany.,Department of Archaeology and Heritage Studies, University of Dar Es Salaam, PO Box 35091, Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania
| | - Zhu Jianfeng
- Saskatchewan Structural Sciences Centre, Rm. G81 Thorvaldson Building 110 Science Place, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 5C9, Canada
| | - Samson Koromo
- Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, University of Iringa, P.O Box 200, Iringa, Tanzania
| | - Fergus Larter
- Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive NW, Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4, Canada
| | - Patrick Lee
- Department of Anthropology, University of Toronto, 27 King's College Circle, Toronto, ON, M5S 1A1, Canada
| | - Jason Maley
- Saskatchewan Structural Sciences Centre, Rm. G81 Thorvaldson Building 110 Science Place, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 5C9, Canada
| | - Juan Luis Fernández-Marchena
- Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES-CERCA), Zona Educacional 4, Campus Sescelades URV (Edifici W3), 43007, Tarragona, Spain.,Seminari d'Estudis i Recerques Prehistòriques, Secció de Prehistòria i Arqueologia, Departament d'Història i Arqueologia, Facultat de Geografia i Història, Universitat de Barcelona, c/Montalegre 6-8, 08001, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Abdallah Mohamed
- Department of Archaeology and Heritage Studies, University of Dar Es Salaam, PO Box 35091, Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania
| | - Aloyce Mwambwiga
- Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive NW, Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4, Canada.,Natural History Museum, PO Box 2160, Arusha, Tanzania
| | - Benja Ngisaruni
- Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority, Ngorongoro, P.O. Box 1, Arusha, Tanzania
| | - Meshack Kingi
- Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority, Ngorongoro, P.O. Box 1, Arusha, Tanzania
| | - Lucas Olesilau
- Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, University of Iringa, P.O Box 200, Iringa, Tanzania
| | - Robert Patalano
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Kahlaische Strasse 10, 07745, Jena, Germany
| | - Antonella Pedergnana
- Institute of Evolutionary Medicine, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Ramaswami Sammynaiken
- Saskatchewan Structural Sciences Centre, Rm. G81 Thorvaldson Building 110 Science Place, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 5C9, Canada
| | - Joakim Siljedal
- Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive NW, Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4, Canada
| | - María Soto
- Madrid Institute for Advanced Study (MIAS), Casa de Velázquez, Calle de Paul Guinard, 3, 28040, Madrid, Spain. .,Departamento de Prehistoria y Arqueología, Facultad de Filosofía y Letras, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Ciudad Universitaria de Cantoblanco, 28049, Madrid, Spain.
| | - Laura Tucker
- Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive NW, Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4, Canada
| | - Dale Walde
- Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive NW, Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4, Canada
| | - Andreu Ollé
- Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES-CERCA), Zona Educacional 4, Campus Sescelades URV (Edifici W3), 43007, Tarragona, Spain. .,Departament d'Història i Història de l'Art, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Avinguda de Catalunya 35, 43002, Tarragona, Spain.
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13
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Reconstructing Neanderthal diet: The case for carbohydrates. J Hum Evol 2021; 162:103105. [PMID: 34923240 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2021.103105] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2021] [Revised: 10/19/2021] [Accepted: 10/20/2021] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Evidence for plants rarely survives on Paleolithic sites, while animal bones and biomolecular analyses suggest animal produce was important to hominin populations, leading to the perspective that Neanderthals had a very-high-protein diet. But although individual and short-term survival is possible on a relatively low-carbohydrate diet, populations are unlikely to have thrived and reproduced without plants and the carbohydrates they provide. Today, nutritional guidelines recommend that around half the diet should be carbohydrate, while low intake is considered to compromise physical performance and successful reproduction. This is likely to have been the same for Paleolithic populations, highlighting an anomaly in that the basic physiological recommendations do not match the extensive archaeological evidence. Neanderthals had large, energy-expensive brains and led physically active lifestyles, suggesting that for optimal health they would have required high amounts of carbohydrates. To address this anomaly, we begin by outlining the essential role of carbohydrates in the human reproduction cycle and the brain and the effects on physical performance. We then evaluate the evidence for resource availability and the archaeological evidence for Neanderthal diet and investigate three ways that the anomaly between the archaeological evidence and the hypothetical dietary requirements might be explained. First, Neanderthals may have had an as yet unidentified genetic adaptation to an alternative physiological method to spare blood glucose and glycogen reserves for essential purposes. Second, they may have existed on a less-than-optimum diet and survived rather than thrived. Third, the methods used in dietary reconstruction could mask a complex combination of dietary plant and animal proportions. We end by proposing that analyses of Paleolithic diet and subsistence strategies need to be grounded in the minimum recommendations throughout the life course and that this provides a context for interpretation of the archaeological evidence from the behavioral and environmental perspectives.
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14
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A novel route for identifying starch diagenetic products in the archaeological record. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0258779. [PMID: 34793489 PMCID: PMC8601532 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0258779] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2021] [Accepted: 10/05/2021] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
This work introduces a novel analytical chemistry method potentially applicable to the study of archaeological starch residues. The investigation involved the laboratory synthesis of model Maillard reaction mixtures and their analysis through Fourier-Transform Ion Cyclotron Resonance Mass Spectrometry (FTICR-MS). Thus, starch from sixteen plant species were matured while reacting it with the amino acid glycine. The FTICR-MS analysis revealed > 5,300 molecular compounds, with numerous unique heteroatom rich compound classes, ranging from 20 (Zea mays) to 50 (Sorghum bicolor). These classes were investigated as repositories of chemical structure retaining source and process-specific character, linked back to botanical provenance. We discussed the Maillard reaction products thus generated, a possible pathway for the preservation of degraded starch, while also assessing diagenetic recalcitrance and adsorption potential to mineral surfaces. In some cases, hydrothermal experimentation on starches without glycine reveals that the chemical complexity of the starch itself is sufficient to produce some Maillard reaction products. The article concludes that FTICR-MS offers a new analytical window to characterize starchy residue and its diagenetic products, and is able to recognize taxonomic signals with the potential to persist in fossil contexts.
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15
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Fannin LD, Singels E, Esler KJ, Dominy NJ. Grit and consequence. Evol Anthropol 2021; 30:375-384. [PMID: 34652829 DOI: 10.1002/evan.21927] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2021] [Revised: 05/03/2021] [Accepted: 09/29/2021] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
Grit is implicated in several biological phenomena-it wears teeth, it fractures teeth, it drives tooth evolution, it elicits complex manual manipulations-any one of which could be described as a central topic in evolutionary anthropology. But what is grit? We hardly know because we tend to privilege the consequences of grit (it is abrasive) over its formal features, all but ignoring crucial variables such as mineral composition, material properties, and particle geometry (size, angularity), not to mention natural variation in the habitats of primates and their food surfaces. Few topics have animated so much debate and invited such cool indifference at the same time. Our goal here is to shine a light on grit, to put a philosophical lens on the nature of our discourse, and to call attention to large empirical voids that should be filled and folded into our understanding of primate natural history and evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luke D Fannin
- Department of Anthropology, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA.,Graduate Program in Ecology, Evolution, Environment, and Society, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA
| | - Elzanne Singels
- Department of Conservation Ecology and Entomology, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa
| | - Karen J Esler
- Department of Conservation Ecology and Entomology, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa
| | - Nathaniel J Dominy
- Department of Anthropology, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA.,Department of Biological Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA
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16
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Lindshield S, Hernandez-Aguilar RA, Korstjens AH, Marchant LF, Narat V, Ndiaye PI, Ogawa H, Piel AK, Pruetz JD, Stewart FA, van Leeuwen KL, Wessling EG, Yoshikawa M. Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) in savanna landscapes. Evol Anthropol 2021; 30:399-420. [PMID: 34542218 DOI: 10.1002/evan.21924] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2020] [Revised: 12/17/2020] [Accepted: 07/29/2021] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) are the only great apes that inhabit hot, dry, and open savannas. We review the environmental pressures of savannas on chimpanzees, such as food and water scarcity, and the evidence for chimpanzees' behavioral responses to these landscapes. In our analysis, savannas were generally associated with low chimpanzee population densities and large home ranges. In addition, thermoregulatory behaviors that likely reduce hyperthermia risk, such as cave use, were frequently observed in the hottest and driest savanna landscapes. We hypothesize that such responses are evidence of a "savanna landscape effect" in chimpanzees and offer pathways for future research to understand its evolutionary processes and mechanisms. We conclude by discussing the significance of research on savanna chimpanzees to modeling the evolution of early hominin traits and informing conservation programs for these endangered apes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stacy Lindshield
- Department of Anthropology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, USA
| | - R Adriana Hernandez-Aguilar
- Department of Social Psychology and Quantitative Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.,Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis, Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Amanda H Korstjens
- Life and Environmental Sciences Department, Bournemouth University, Talbot Campus, Poole, UK
| | | | - Victor Narat
- CNRS/MNHN/Paris Diderot, UMR 7206 Eco-anthropology, Paris, France
| | - Papa Ibnou Ndiaye
- Département de Biologie Animale, Faculté des Sciences et Techniques, Université Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar, Dakar, Senegal
| | - Hideshi Ogawa
- School of International Liberal Studies, Chukyo University, Toyota, Aichi, Japan
| | - Alex K Piel
- Department of Anthropology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Jill D Pruetz
- Department of Anthropology, Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas, USA
| | - Fiona A Stewart
- Department of Anthropology, University College London, London, UK.,School of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK
| | - Kelly L van Leeuwen
- Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, Bournemouth University, Talbot Campus, Poole, UK
| | - Erin G Wessling
- Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Midori Yoshikawa
- Department of Zoology, National Museum of Nature and Science, Ibaraki, Tokyo, Japan
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17
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Seasonality and Oldowan behavioral variability in East Africa. J Hum Evol 2021; 164:103070. [PMID: 34548178 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2021.103070] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2021] [Revised: 08/11/2021] [Accepted: 08/12/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
The extent, nature, and temporality of early hominin food procurement strategies have been subject to extensive debate. In this article, we examine evidence for the seasonal scheduling of resource procurement and technological investment in the Oldowan, starting with an evaluation of the seasonal signature of underground storage organs, freshwater resources, and terrestrial animal resources in extant primates and modern human hunter-gatherer populations. Subsequently, we use the mortality profiles, taxonomic composition, and taphonomy of the bovid assemblages at Kanjera South (Homa Peninsula, Kenya) and FLK-Zinj (Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania) to illustrate the behavioral flexibility of Oldowan hominins, who were targeting different seasonally vulnerable demographics. In terms of the lithic assemblages, the specific opportunities and constraints afforded by dry season subsistence at FLK-Zinj may have disincentivized lithic investment, resulting in a more expedient toolkit for fast and effective carcass processing. This may have been reinforced by raw material site provisioning during a relatively prolonged seasonal occupation, reducing pressures on the reduction and curation of lithic implements. In contrast, wet season plant abundance would have offered a predictable set of high-quality resources associated with low levels of competition and reduced search times, in the context of perhaps greater seasonal mobility and consequently shorter occupations. These factors appear to have fostered technological investment to reduce resource handling costs at Kanjera South, facilitated by more consistent net returns and enhanced planning of lithic deployment throughout the landscape. We subsequently discuss the seasonality of freshwater resources in Oldowan procurement strategies, focusing on FwJj20 (Koobi Fora, Kenya). Although more analytical studies with representative sample sizes are needed, we argue that interassemblage differences evidence the ability of Oldowan hominins to adapt to seasonal constraints and opportunities in resource exploitation.
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18
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McCarthy MS, Lester JD. Consumption of cultivated subterranean plant organs by chimpanzees in a human-dominated landscape. BEHAVIOUR 2021. [DOI: 10.1163/1568539x-bja10107] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Although chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) are ripe fruit specialists, they sometimes consume other plant parts including subterranean organs like roots and tubers. Such plant parts, which include underground storage organs (USOs), have been found to play a key role in the diets of some chimpanzee populations as well as, potentially, our hominin ancestors. We report the confirmed consumption of subterranean plant organs of three species — sweet potatoes (Ipomoea batatas), yams (Dioscorea alata) and peanuts (Arachis hypogaea), as well as unconfirmed consumption of cassava (Manihot esculenta) — by chimpanzees in a human-dominated landscape in western Uganda. These observations point toward the dietary flexibility of chimpanzees inhabiting anthropogenic landscapes, though mechanisms of novel food acquisition, particularly for subterranean fruits and tubers, are not well understood. Dietary flexibility may help chimpanzees survive as natural forest resources disappear, but simultaneously may bring them into greater conflict with their human neighbours, thereby further imperilling them.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maureen S. McCarthy
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Bulindi Chimpanzee and Community Project, Hoima, Uganda
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Jack D. Lester
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Bulindi Chimpanzee and Community Project, Hoima, Uganda
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19
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Pontzer H, Wood BM. Effects of Evolution, Ecology, and Economy on Human Diet: Insights from Hunter-Gatherers and Other Small-Scale Societies. Annu Rev Nutr 2021; 41:363-385. [PMID: 34138633 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-nutr-111120-105520] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
We review the evolutionary origins of the human diet and the effects of ecology economy on the dietary proportion of plants and animals. Humans eat more meat than other apes, a consequence of hunting and gathering, which arose ∼2.5 Mya with the genus Homo. Paleolithic diets likely included a balance of plant and animal foods and would have been remarkably variable across time and space. A plant/animal food balance of 40-60% prevails among contemporary warm-climate hunter-gatherers, but these proportions vary widely. Societies in cold climates, and those that depend more on fishing or pastoralism, tend to eat more meat. Warm-climate foragers, and groups that engage in some farming, tend to eat more plants. We present a case study of the wild food diet of the Hadza, a community of hunter-gatherers in northern Tanzania, whose diet is high in fiber, adequate in protein, and remarkably variable over monthly timescales. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Nutrition, Volume 41 is September 2021. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Herman Pontzer
- Evolutionary Anthropology and Duke Global Health Institute, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708, USA;
| | - Brian M Wood
- Department of Anthropology, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA.,Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany 604103
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20
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Dental chipping supports lack of hard-object feeding in Paranthropus boisei. J Hum Evol 2021; 156:103015. [PMID: 34038770 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2021.103015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2021] [Revised: 04/27/2021] [Accepted: 04/27/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
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21
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Smith TM, Cook L, Dirks W, Green DR, Austin C. Teeth reveal juvenile diet, health and neurotoxicant exposure retrospectively: What biological rhythms and chemical records tell us. Bioessays 2021; 43:e2000298. [PMID: 33721363 DOI: 10.1002/bies.202000298] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2020] [Revised: 02/09/2021] [Accepted: 02/10/2021] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
Integrated developmental and elemental information in teeth provide a unique framework for documenting breastfeeding histories, physiological disruptions, and neurotoxicant exposure in humans and our primate relatives, including ancient hominins. Here we detail our method for detecting the consumption of mothers' milk and exploring health history through the use of laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) mapping of sectioned nonhuman primate teeth. Calcium-normalized barium and lead concentrations in tooth enamel and dentine may reflect milk and formula consumption with minimal modification during subsequent tooth mineralization, particularly in dentine. However, skeletal resorption during severe illness, and bioavailable metals in nonmilk foods, can complicate interpretations of nursing behavior. We show that explorations of the patterning of multiple elements may aid in the distinction of these important etiologies. Targeted studies of skeletal chemistry, gastrointestinal maturation, and the dietary bioavailability of metals are needed to optimize these unique records of human health and behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tanya M Smith
- Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution, Griffith University, Nathan, Queensland, Australia.,Griffith Centre for Social and Cultural Research, Griffith University, Nathan, Queensland, Australia
| | - Luisa Cook
- School of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work, University of Queensland, Saint Lucia, Queensland, Australia
| | - Wendy Dirks
- Department of Anthropology, Durham University, Durham, Durham, UK
| | - Daniel R Green
- Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Christine Austin
- Department of Environmental Medicine and Public Health, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
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22
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Wilson ML. Insights into human evolution from 60 years of research on chimpanzees at Gombe. EVOLUTIONARY HUMAN SCIENCES 2021; 3:e8. [PMID: 33604500 PMCID: PMC7886264 DOI: 10.1017/ehs.2021.2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Sixty years of research on chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) at Gombe National Park, Tanzania have revealed many similarities with human behaviour, including hunting, tool use, and coalitionary killing. The close phylogenetic relationship between chimpanzees and humans suggests that these traits were present in the last common ancestor of Pan and Homo (LCAPH). However, findings emerging from studies of our other closest living relative, the bonobo (Pan paniscus), indicate that either bonobos are derived in these respects, or the many similarities between chimpanzees and humans evolved convergently. In either case, field studies provide opportunities to test hypotheses for how and why our lineage has followed its peculiar path through the adaptive landscape. Evidence from primate field studies suggests that the hominin path depends on our heritage as apes: inefficient quadrupeds with grasping hands, orthograde posture, and digestive systems that require high quality foods. Key steps along this path include: (1) changes in diet; (2) increased use of tools; (3) bipedal gait; (4) multilevel societies; (5) collective foraging, including a sexual division of labor and extensive food transfers; and (6) language. Here I consider some possible explanations for these transitions, with an emphasis on contributions from Gombe.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Lawrence Wilson
- Department of Anthropology, University of Minnesota, 395 Humphrey Center, 301 19th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN55455, USA
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, University of Minnesota, 140 Gortner Laboratory, 1479 Gortner Avenue, Saint Paul, MN55108, USA
- Institute on the Environment, University of Minnesota, 1954 Buford Avenue, Saint Paul, MN55108, USA
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23
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Glendinning JI. What Does the Taste System Tell Us About the Nutritional Composition and Toxicity of Foods? Handb Exp Pharmacol 2021; 275:321-351. [PMID: 33782771 DOI: 10.1007/164_2021_451] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
One of the distinctive features of the human taste system is that it categorizes food into a few taste qualities - e.g., sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and umami. Here, I examined the functional significance of these taste qualities by asking what they tell us about the nutritional composition and toxicity of foods. I collected published data on the composition of raw and unprocessed foods - i.e., fruits, endosperm tissues, starchy foods, mushrooms, and meats. Sweet taste is thought to help identify foods with a high caloric or micronutrient density. However, the sweetest foods (fruits) had a relatively modest caloric density and low micronutrient density, whereas the blandest foods (endosperm tissues and meats) had a relatively high caloric and high micronutrient density. Salty taste is thought to be a proxy for foods high in sodium. Sodium levels were higher in meats than in most plant materials, but raw meats lack a salient salty taste. Sour taste (a measure of acidity) is thought to signify dangerous or spoiled foods. While this may be the case, it is notable that most ripe fruits are acidic. Umami taste is thought to reflect the protein content of food. I found that free L-glutamate (the prototypical umami tastant) concentration varies independently of protein content in foods. Bitter taste is thought to help identify poisonous foods, but many nutritious plant materials taste bitter. Fat taste is thought to help identify triglyceride-rich foods, but the role of taste versus mouthfeel in the attraction to fatty foods is unresolved. These findings indicate that the taste system provides incomplete or, in some cases, misleading information about the nutritional content and toxicity of foods. This may explain why inputs from the taste system are merged with inputs from the other cephalic senses and intestinal nutrient-sensing systems. By doing so, we create a more complete sensory representation and nutritional evaluation of foods.
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Affiliation(s)
- John I Glendinning
- Departments of Biology and Neuroscience and Behavior, Barnard College, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
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24
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Yeakel JD, Bhat U, Newsome SD. Caching in or Falling Back at the Sevilleta: The Effects of Body Size and Seasonal Uncertainty on Desert Rodent Foraging. Am Nat 2020; 196:241-256. [DOI: 10.1086/709019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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25
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Lockey AL, Alemseged Z, Hublin JJ, Skinner MM. Maxillary molar enamel thickness of Plio-Pleistocene hominins. J Hum Evol 2020; 142:102731. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2019.102731] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2018] [Revised: 11/19/2019] [Accepted: 12/02/2019] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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26
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Romero A, Ramirez-Rozzi FV, Cuesta-Torralvo E, Pérez-Pérez A. Age-related tooth wear in African rainforest hunter-gatherers. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2019; 170:622-628. [PMID: 31599980 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.23934] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2019] [Revised: 09/01/2019] [Accepted: 09/11/2019] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Central African small-scale foragers subsist primarily on hunting game activities and wild plant-food gathering. Starch-rich tubers are underground storage organs (USOs) and staple food resources in savanna and tropical rainforests. However, little is known about the effect of USO consumption on tooth wear development in living hunter-gatherers. We report age- and sex-dependent tooth wear rates in forest-dwelling Baka Pygmies with well-documented wild-yam-tuber-based diet to explore the long-term impact of USO mechanical hardness and abrasiveness on the wearing down of the teeth. MATERIALS AND METHODS Percentages of dentine exposure (PDEs) of permanent left mandibular first molars (M1 ) were recorded using in vivo high-resolution replicas of Baka individuals (aged 8-33 years), inhabiting Le Bosquet district in Cameroon (Western Africa). Regression and covariance analyses were used to test the effect of individual aging by sex on PDE rates. RESULTS We found a strong increase of PDE by age among Baka individuals. No evidence of sexual dimorphism in wear patterns suggests similar sex-related dietary and masticatory demands during growth. Overall, greatest dentine exposure values ≈4% denote unexpected slow wear down rates for foraging diets relying on USO consumption. DISCUSSION The low molar wear rates with age found in Baka Pygmies contrast with extensive wear rates in savanna-dwelling foragers, reflecting differences in thermal processing techniques affecting fracture toughness and grittiness of mechanically challenging foods. Our findings reveal that culture-specific dietary proclivities influence tooth wear among foraging behaviors with important implications in hominin dietary versatility and abrasive stress on chewing surfaces.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alejandro Romero
- Departamento de Biotecnología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Alicante, Alicante, Spain
| | | | - Elisabeth Cuesta-Torralvo
- Departament de Biologia Evolutiva, Ecologia i Ciencies Ambientals, Secció Zoologia i Antropologia Biològica, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Alejandro Pérez-Pérez
- Departament de Biologia Evolutiva, Ecologia i Ciencies Ambientals, Secció Zoologia i Antropologia Biològica, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
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Seasonal and habitat effects on the nutritional properties of savanna vegetation: Potential implications for early hominin dietary ecology. J Hum Evol 2019; 133:99-107. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2019.01.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2018] [Revised: 01/09/2019] [Accepted: 01/23/2019] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
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Motes-Rodrigo A, Majlesi P, Pickering TR, Laska M, Axelsen H, Minchin TC, Tennie C, Hernandez-Aguilar RA. Chimpanzee extractive foraging with excavating tools: Experimental modeling of the origins of human technology. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0215644. [PMID: 31091268 PMCID: PMC6519788 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0215644] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2018] [Accepted: 04/06/2019] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
It is hypothesized that tool-assisted excavation of plant underground storage organs (USOs) played an adaptive role in hominin evolution and was also once considered a uniquely human behavior. Recent data indicate that savanna chimpanzees also use tools to excavate edible USOs. However, those chimpanzees remain largely unhabituated and we lack direct observations of this behavior in the wild. To fill this gap in our knowledge of hominoid USO extractive foraging, we conducted tool-mediated excavation experiments with captive chimpanzees naïve to this behavior. We presented the chimpanzees with the opportunity to use tools in order to excavate artificially-placed underground foods in their naturally forested outdoor enclosure. No guidance or demonstration was given to the chimpanzees at any time. The chimpanzees used tools spontaneously in order to excavate the underground foods. They exhibited six different tool use behaviors in the context of excavation: probe, perforate, dig, pound, enlarge and shovel. However, they still excavated manually more often than they did with tools. Chimpanzees were selective in their choice of tools that we provided, preferring longer tools for excavation. They also obtained their own tools mainly from naturally occurring vegetation and transported them to the excavation site. They reused some tools throughout the study. Our new data provide a direction for the study of variables relevant to modeling USO extractive foraging by early hominins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alba Motes-Rodrigo
- Department of Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Parandis Majlesi
- Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis, Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Travis Rayne Pickering
- Department of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United States of America
- Plio-Pleistocene Palaeontology Section, Department of Vertebrates, Ditsong National Museum of Natural History (Transvaal Museum), Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Matthias Laska
- Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology (IFM), Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
| | | | | | - Claudio Tennie
- Department of Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
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29
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Motes-Rodrigo A, Hernandez-Aguilar RA, Laska M. Preferential hand use by captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) in manual and tool digging. Primates 2019; 60:367-373. [PMID: 31006044 PMCID: PMC6612319 DOI: 10.1007/s10329-019-00727-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2019] [Accepted: 04/10/2019] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Digging for underground storage organs of plants has been reported in various populations of wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). However, it is unknown so far whether chimpanzees display lateral biases in manual digging as direct observations of this behavior are still lacking. It was therefore the aim of the present study to assess, for the first time, hand preferences for digging in a group of nine captive chimpanzees. We found that with only one exception, all individuals engaged in manual digging for buried food. Five individuals displayed a significant right-hand preference, two a significant left-hand preference, and one was ambidextrous. No apparent differences between males and females were found with regard to the direction or strength of hand preferences for manual digging. Only one out of four parent–offspring pairs was congruent in their preferred hand for manual digging. Three of the eight chimpanzees who dug manually also used tools in order to excavate buried food. Among those three individuals, one displayed a significant right-, one a significant left-hand preference, and one was ambidextrous. Only one of these three chimpanzees was consistent in preferring the same hand for manual and tool digging. The present findings are in line with the notion that chimpanzees display significant hand preferences at the individual level for haptic-guided behaviors, with a tendency for the right hand.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alba Motes-Rodrigo
- IFM Biology, Linköping University, 581 83, Linköping, Sweden.,Department of Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - R Adriana Hernandez-Aguilar
- Department of Biosciences, Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis (CEES), University of Oslo, Blindern, Oslo, Norway
| | - Matthias Laska
- IFM Biology, Linköping University, 581 83, Linköping, Sweden.
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30
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Lins PGADS, Ferreira RG. Competition during sugarcane crop raiding by blond capuchin monkeys (Sapajus flavius). Primates 2018; 60:81-91. [DOI: 10.1007/s10329-018-0698-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2018] [Accepted: 11/07/2018] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
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31
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The cooperative economy of food: Implications for human life history and physiology. Physiol Behav 2018; 193:196-204. [DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2018.03.029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2017] [Revised: 03/25/2018] [Accepted: 03/26/2018] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
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32
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Paine OC, Koppa A, Henry AG, Leichliter JN, Codron D, Codron J, Lambert JE, Sponheimer M. Grass leaves as potential hominin dietary resources. J Hum Evol 2018; 117:44-52. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2017.10.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2017] [Revised: 10/27/2017] [Accepted: 10/30/2017] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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33
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Graminivory and Fallback Foods: Annual Diet Profile of Geladas (Theropithecus gelada) Living in the Simien Mountains National Park, Ethiopia. INT J PRIMATOL 2018. [DOI: 10.1007/s10764-018-0018-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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34
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Simmen B, Pasquet P, Masi S, Koppert GJA, Wells JCK, Hladik CM. Primate energy input and the evolutionary transition to energy-dense diets in humans. Proc Biol Sci 2018; 284:rspb.2017.0577. [PMID: 28592672 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2017.0577] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2017] [Accepted: 05/08/2017] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Humans and other large-brained hominins have been proposed to increase energy turnover during their evolutionary history. Such increased energy turnover is plausible, given the evolution of energy-rich diets, but requires empirical confirmation. Framing human energetics in a phylogenetic context, our meta-analysis of 17 wild non-human primate species shows that daily metabolizable energy input follows an allometric relationship with body mass where the allometric exponent for mass is 0.75 ± 0.04, close to that reported for daily energy expenditure measured with doubly labelled water in primates. Human populations at subsistence level (n = 6) largely fall within the variation of primate species in the scaling of energy intake and therefore do not consume significantly more energy than predicted for a non-human primate of equivalent mass. By contrast, humans ingest a conspicuously lower mass of food (-64 ± 6%) compared with primates and maintain their energy intake relatively more constantly across the year. We conclude that our hominin hunter-gatherer ancestors did not increase their energy turnover beyond the allometric relationship characterizing all primate species. The reduction in digestive costs due to consumption of a lower mass of high-quality food, as well as stabilization of energy supply, may have been important evolutionary steps enabling encephalization in the absence of significantly raised energy intakes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bruno Simmen
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique/Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, UMR 7206-Eco-anthropologie et Ethnobiologie, 1 Avenue du Petit Château, 91800 Brunoy, France
| | - Patrick Pasquet
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique/Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Musée de l'Homme, UMR 7206-Eco-anthropologie et Ethnologie, 17 Place du Trocadéro, 75116 Paris, France
| | - Shelly Masi
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique/Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Musée de l'Homme, UMR 7206-Eco-anthropologie et Ethnologie, 17 Place du Trocadéro, 75116 Paris, France
| | - Georgius J A Koppert
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique/Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, UMR 7206-Eco-anthropologie et Ethnobiologie, 1 Avenue du Petit Château, 91800 Brunoy, France
| | - Jonathan C K Wells
- Childhood Nutrition Research Centre, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, 30 Guilford Street, London WC1N 1EH, UK
| | - Claude Marcel Hladik
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique/Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, UMR 7206-Eco-anthropologie et Ethnobiologie, 1 Avenue du Petit Château, 91800 Brunoy, France
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35
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Was Mesopithecus a seed eating colobine? Assessment of cracking, grinding and shearing ability using dental topography. J Hum Evol 2017; 112:79-92. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2017.09.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2016] [Revised: 08/28/2017] [Accepted: 09/05/2017] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
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36
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37
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Bond W, Zaloumis NP. The deforestation story: testing for anthropogenic origins of Africa's flammable grassy biomes. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2017; 371:rstb.2015.0170. [PMID: 27216527 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2015.0170] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/19/2016] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Africa has the most extensive C4 grassy biomes of any continent. They are highly flammable accounting for greater than 70% of the world's burnt area. Much of Africa's savannas and grasslands occur in climates warm enough and wet enough to support closed forests. The combination of open grassy systems and the frequent fires they support have long been interpreted as anthropogenic artefacts caused by humans igniting frequent fires. True grasslands, it was believed, would be restricted to climates too dry or too cold to support closed woody vegetation. The idea that higher-rainfall savannas are anthropogenic and that fires are of human origin has led to initiatives to 'reforest' Africa's open grassy systems paid for by carbon credits under the assumption that the net effect of converting these system to forests would sequester carbon, reduce greenhouse gases and mitigate global warming. This paper reviews evidence for the antiquity of African grassy ecosystems and for the fires that they sustain. Africa's grassy biomes and the fires that maintain them are ancient and there is no support for the idea that humans caused large-scale deforestation. Indicators of old-growth grasslands are described. These can help distinguish secondary grasslands suitable for reforestation from ancient grasslands that should not be afforested.This article is part of the themed issue 'The interaction of fire and mankind'.
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Affiliation(s)
- William Bond
- South African Environmental Observation Network, National Research Foundation, P/Bag X7, Claremont 7735, South Africa Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cape Trown, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa
| | - Nicholas P Zaloumis
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cape Trown, Rondebosch 7701, South Africa
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38
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Gowlett JAJ. The discovery of fire by humans: a long and convoluted process. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2017; 371:rstb.2015.0164. [PMID: 27216521 PMCID: PMC4874402 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2015.0164] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/18/2016] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Numbers of animal species react to the natural phenomenon of fire, but only humans have learnt to control it and to make it at will. Natural fires caused overwhelmingly by lightning are highly evident on many landscapes. Birds such as hawks, and some other predators, are alert to opportunities to catch animals including invertebrates disturbed by such fires and similar benefits are likely to underlie the first human involvements with fires. Early hominins would undoubtedly have been aware of such fires, as are savanna chimpanzees in the present. Rather than as an event, the discovery of fire use may be seen as a set of processes happening over the long term. Eventually, fire became embedded in human behaviour, so that it is involved in almost all advanced technologies. Fire has also influenced human biology, assisting in providing the high-quality diet which has fuelled the increase in brain size through the Pleistocene. Direct evidence of early fire in archaeology remains rare, but from 1.5 Ma onward surprising numbers of sites preserve some evidence of burnt material. By the Middle Pleistocene, recognizable hearths demonstrate a social and economic focus on many sites. The evidence of archaeological sites has to be evaluated against postulates of biological models such as the ‘cooking hypothesis' or the ‘social brain’, and questions of social cooperation and the origins of language. Although much remains to be worked out, it is plain that fire control has had a major impact in the course of human evolution. This article is part of the themed issue ‘The interaction of fire and mankind’.
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Affiliation(s)
- J A J Gowlett
- Archaeology, Classics and Egyptology, School of Histories, Language and Cultures, University of Liverpool, 12-14 Abercromby Square, Liverpool L69 7WZ, UK
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39
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Falótico T, Siqueira JO, Ottoni EB. Digging up food: excavation stone tool use by wild capuchin monkeys. Sci Rep 2017; 7:6278. [PMID: 28740211 PMCID: PMC5524703 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-06541-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2017] [Accepted: 06/12/2017] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Capuchin monkeys at Serra da Capivara National Park (SCNP) usually forage on the ground for roots and fossorial arthropods, digging primarily with their hands but also using stone tools to loosen the soil and aid the digging process. Here we describe the stone tools used for digging by two groups of capuchins on SCNP. Both groups used tools while digging three main food resources: Thiloa glaucocarpa tubers, Ocotea sp roots, and trapdoor spiders. One explanation for the occurrence of tool use in primates is the “necessity hypothesis”, which states that the main function of tool use is to obtain fallback food. We tested for this, but only found a positive correlation between plant food availability and the frequency of stone tools’ use. Thus, our data do not support the fallback food hypothesis for the use of tools to access burrowed resources.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tiago Falótico
- Dept. of Experimental Psychology - Institute of Psychology, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
| | - José O Siqueira
- Dept. of Experimental Psychology - Institute of Psychology, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Eduardo B Ottoni
- Dept. of Experimental Psychology - Institute of Psychology, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
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40
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Al-Daghri NM, Pontremoli C, Cagliani R, Forni D, Alokail MS, Al-Attas OS, Sabico S, Riva S, Clerici M, Sironi M. Susceptibility to type 2 diabetes may be modulated by haplotypes in G6PC2, a target of positive selection. BMC Evol Biol 2017; 17:43. [PMID: 28173748 PMCID: PMC5297017 DOI: 10.1186/s12862-017-0897-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2016] [Accepted: 01/26/2017] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The endoplasmic reticulum enzyme glucose-6-phosphatase catalyzes the common terminal reaction in the gluconeogenic/glycogenolytic pathways and plays a central role in glucose homeostasis. In most mammals, different G6PC subunits are encoded by three paralogous genes (G6PC, G6PC2, and G6PC3). Mutations in G6PC and G6PC3 are responsible for human mendelian diseases, whereas variants in G6PC2 are associated with fasting glucose (FG) levels. RESULTS We analyzed the evolutionary history of G6Pase genes. Results indicated that the three paralogs originated during early vertebrate evolution and that negative selection was the major force shaping diversity at these genes in mammals. Nonetheless, site-wise estimation of evolutionary rates at corresponding sites revealed weak correlations, suggesting that mammalian G6Pases have evolved different structural features over time. We also detected pervasive positive selection at mammalian G6PC2. Most selected residues localize in the C-terminal protein region, where several human variants associated with FG levels also map. This region was re-sequenced in ~560 subjects from Saudi Arabia, 185 of whom suffering from type 2 diabetes (T2D). The frequency of rare missense and nonsense variants was not significantly different in T2D and controls. Association analysis with two common missense variants (V219L and S342C) revealed a weak but significant association for both SNPs when analyses were conditioned on rs560887, previously identified in a GWAS for FG. Two haplotypes were significantly associated with T2D with an opposite effect direction. CONCLUSIONS We detected pervasive positive selection at mammalian G6PC2 genes and we suggest that distinct haplotypes at the G6PC2 locus modulate susceptibility to T2D.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nasser M Al-Daghri
- Biomarker research program, Biochemistry Department, College of Science, King Saud Universiy, Riyadh, 11451, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.,Prince Mutaib Chair for Biomarkers of Osteoporosis Research, King Saud University, Riyadh, 11451, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
| | | | - Rachele Cagliani
- Scientific Institute IRCCS E.MEDEA, Bosisio Parini, 23842, Italy
| | - Diego Forni
- Scientific Institute IRCCS E.MEDEA, Bosisio Parini, 23842, Italy
| | - Majed S Alokail
- Biomarker research program, Biochemistry Department, College of Science, King Saud Universiy, Riyadh, 11451, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.,Prince Mutaib Chair for Biomarkers of Osteoporosis Research, King Saud University, Riyadh, 11451, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
| | - Omar S Al-Attas
- Biomarker research program, Biochemistry Department, College of Science, King Saud Universiy, Riyadh, 11451, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.,Prince Mutaib Chair for Biomarkers of Osteoporosis Research, King Saud University, Riyadh, 11451, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
| | - Shaun Sabico
- Biomarker research program, Biochemistry Department, College of Science, King Saud Universiy, Riyadh, 11451, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.,Prince Mutaib Chair for Biomarkers of Osteoporosis Research, King Saud University, Riyadh, 11451, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
| | - Stefania Riva
- Scientific Institute IRCCS E.MEDEA, Bosisio Parini, 23842, Italy
| | - Mario Clerici
- Department of Physiopathology and Transplantation, University of Milan, via F.lli Cervi 93, Segrate, 20090, Milan, Italy. .,Don Gnocchi Foundation, ONLUS, Milan, 20148, Italy.
| | - Manuela Sironi
- Scientific Institute IRCCS E.MEDEA, Bosisio Parini, 23842, Italy
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41
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Singels E, Potts AJ, Cowling RM, Marean CW, De Vynck J, Esler KJ. Foraging potential of underground storage organ plants in the southern Cape, South Africa. J Hum Evol 2016; 101:79-89. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2016.09.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2014] [Revised: 08/06/2016] [Accepted: 09/11/2016] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
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42
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Chigayo K, Mojapelo PEL, Mnyakeni-Moleele S, Misihairabgwi JM. Phytochemical and antioxidant properties of different solvent extracts of Kirkia wilmsii tubers. Asian Pac J Trop Biomed 2016. [DOI: 10.1016/j.apjtb.2016.10.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022] Open
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43
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Martínez LM, Estebaranz-Sánchez F, Galbany J, Pérez-Pérez A. Testing Dietary Hypotheses of East African Hominines Using Buccal Dental Microwear Data. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0165447. [PMID: 27851745 PMCID: PMC5112956 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0165447] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2016] [Accepted: 10/12/2016] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
There is much debate on the dietary adaptations of the robust hominin lineages during the Pliocene-Pleistocene transition. It has been argued that the shift from C3 to C4 ecosystems in Africa was the main factor responsible for the robust dental and facial anatomical adaptations of Paranthropus taxa, which might be indicative of the consumption of fibrous, abrasive plant foods in open environments. However, occlusal dental microwear data fail to provide evidence of such dietary adaptations and are not consistent with isotopic evidence that supports greater C4 food intake for the robust clades than for the gracile australopithecines. We provide evidence from buccal dental microwear data that supports softer dietary habits than expected for P. aethiopicus and P. boisei based both on masticatory apomorphies and isotopic analyses. On one hand, striation densities on the buccal enamel surfaces of paranthropines teeth are low, resembling those of H. habilis and clearly differing from those observed on H. ergaster, which display higher scratch densities indicative of the consumption of a wide assortment of highly abrasive foodstuffs. Buccal dental microwear patterns are consistent with those previously described for occlusal enamel surfaces, suggesting that Paranthropus consumed much softer diets than previously presumed and thus calling into question a strict interpretation of isotopic evidence. On the other hand, the significantly high buccal scratch densities observed in the H. ergaster specimens are not consistent with a highly specialized, mostly carnivorous diet; instead, they support the consumption of a wide range of highly abrasive food items.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Mónica Martínez
- Secció de Zoologia i Antropologia, Departament de Biologia Evolutiva, Ecologia i Ciències Ambientals, Facultat de Biologia, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Ferran Estebaranz-Sánchez
- Secció de Zoologia i Antropologia, Departament de Biologia Evolutiva, Ecologia i Ciències Ambientals, Facultat de Biologia, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Jordi Galbany
- Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, Department of Anthropology, The George Washington University, Washington DC, United States of America
| | - Alejandro Pérez-Pérez
- Secció de Zoologia i Antropologia, Departament de Biologia Evolutiva, Ecologia i Ciències Ambientals, Facultat de Biologia, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
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44
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Boesch C, Kalan AK, Agbor A, Arandjelovic M, Dieguez P, Lapeyre V, Kühl HS. Chimpanzees routinely fish for algae with tools during the dry season in Bakoun, Guinea. Am J Primatol 2016; 79:1-7. [PMID: 27813136 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.22613] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2016] [Revised: 09/14/2016] [Accepted: 09/16/2016] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Wild chimpanzees regularly use tools, made from sticks, leaves, or stone, to find flexible solutions to the ecological challenges of their environment. Nevertheless, some studies suggest strong limitations in the tool-using capabilities of chimpanzees. In this context, we present the discovery of a newly observed tool-use behavior in a population of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) living in the Bakoun Classified Forest, Guinea, where a temporary research site was established for 15 months. Bakoun chimpanzees of every age-sex class were observed to fish for freshwater green algae, Spirogrya sp., from rivers, streams, and ponds using long sticks and twigs, ranging from 9 cm up to 4.31 m in length. Using remote camera trap footage from 11 different algae fishing sites within an 85-km2 study area, we found that algae fishing occurred frequently during the dry season and was non-existent during the rainy season. Chimpanzees were observed algae fishing for as little as 1 min to just over an hour, with an average duration of 9.09 min. We estimate that 364 g of Spirogyra algae could be retrieved in this time, based on human trials in the field. Only one other chimpanzee population living in Bossou, Guinea, has been described to customarily scoop algae from the surface of the water using primarily herbaceous tools. Here, we describe the new behavior found at Bakoun and compare it to the algae scooping observed in Bossou chimpanzees and the occasional variant reported in Odzala, Republic of the Congo. As these algae are reported to be high in protein, carbohydrates, and minerals, we hypothesize that chimpanzees are obtaining a nutritional benefit from this seasonally available resource.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christophe Boesch
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany.,Wild Chimpanzee Foundation, Conakry, Guinea
| | - Ammie K Kalan
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Anthony Agbor
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Mimi Arandjelovic
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Paula Dieguez
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | | | - Hjalmar S Kühl
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany.,German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
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45
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Shipley GP, Kindscher K. Evidence for the Paleoethnobotany of the Neanderthal: A Review of the Literature. SCIENTIFICA 2016; 2016:8927654. [PMID: 27843675 PMCID: PMC5098096 DOI: 10.1155/2016/8927654] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2016] [Accepted: 09/29/2016] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
Our perception of our closest human relatives, the Neanderthals, has evolved in the last few decades from brutish ape-men to intelligent archaic human peoples. Our understanding and appreciation of their cultural sophistication has only recently extended to their diet. Only within the last few years, with new techniques and a shift in focus, have we begun to truly investigate and understand the role of plants in their diet and culture. The more we learn about Neanderthals, the more we realize that biological and cultural distinctions between them and us were relatively small. Given that we coexisted and likely interacted with them for thousands of years, the more we learn about them, the better we may understand our own past. In that light, we review the current evidence, derived from such sources as plant remains (e.g., starch, pollen, phytoliths, and seeds) in soil and dental calculus, dental and tool wear, coprolites, and genetics, for Neanderthal's nutritional, medicinal, and ritual use of plants, which includes 61 different taxa from 26 different plant families found at 17 different archaeological sites. Further, we updated and standardized botanical nomenclature from many sources published over many decades to provide a more stable foundation for future work.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gerhard P. Shipley
- Indigenous Studies Department, University of Kansas, Lippincott Hall, 1410 Jayhawk Boulevard, Lawrence, KS 66045, USA
| | - Kelly Kindscher
- Kansas Biological Survey, University of Kansas, 2101 Constant Ave., Lawrence, KS 66047, USA
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Coiner-Collier S, Scott RS, Chalk-Wilayto J, Cheyne SM, Constantino P, Dominy NJ, Elgart AA, Glowacka H, Loyola LC, Ossi-Lupo K, Raguet-Schofield M, Talebi MG, Sala EA, Sieradzy P, Taylor AB, Vinyard CJ, Wright BW, Yamashita N, Lucas PW, Vogel ER. Primate dietary ecology in the context of food mechanical properties. J Hum Evol 2016; 98:103-118. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2016.07.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2014] [Revised: 04/21/2016] [Accepted: 07/19/2016] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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Marean CW. The transition to foraging for dense and predictable resources and its impact on the evolution of modern humans. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2016; 371:20150239. [PMID: 27298470 PMCID: PMC4920296 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2015.0239] [Citation(s) in RCA: 78] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/06/2016] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Scientists have identified a series of milestones in the evolution of the human food quest that are anticipated to have had far-reaching impacts on biological, behavioural and cultural evolution: the inclusion of substantial portions of meat, the broad spectrum revolution and the transition to food production. The foraging shift to dense and predictable resources is another key milestone that had consequential impacts on the later part of human evolution. The theory of economic defendability predicts that this shift had an important consequence-elevated levels of intergroup territoriality and conflict. In this paper, this theory is integrated with a well-established general theory of hunter-gatherer adaptations and is used to make predictions for the sequence of appearance of several evolved traits of modern humans. The distribution of dense and predictable resources in Africa is reviewed and found to occur only in aquatic contexts (coasts, rivers and lakes). The palaeoanthropological empirical record contains recurrent evidence for a shift to the exploitation of dense and predictable resources by 110 000 years ago, and the first known occurrence is in a marine coastal context in South Africa. Some theory predicts that this elevated conflict would have provided the conditions for selection for the hyperprosocial behaviours unique to modern humans.This article is part of the themed issue 'Major transitions in human evolution'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Curtis W Marean
- School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Institute of Human Origins, Arizona State University, PO Box 872402, Tempe, AZ 85287-2402, USA Centre for Coastal Palaeoscience, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape 6031, South Africa
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Further morphological evidence on South African earliest Homo lower postcanine dentition: Enamel thickness and enamel dentine junction. J Hum Evol 2016; 96:82-96. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2016.05.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2015] [Revised: 05/03/2016] [Accepted: 05/04/2016] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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Membrane-plate transition in leaves as an influence on dietary selectivity and tooth form. J Hum Evol 2016; 98:18-26. [PMID: 27265521 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2016.04.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2014] [Revised: 01/29/2016] [Accepted: 04/26/2016] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Primates need accurate sensory signals about food quality to forage efficiently. Current evidence suggests that they target leaf foods based on color at long-range, reinforcing this with post-ingestive sensations relating to leaf toughness evoked during chewing. Selection against tough leaves effectively selects against high fiber content, which in turn gives a greater opportunity of acquiring protein. Here we consider a novel intermediate mechanical factor that could aid a folivore: leaves may transform mechanically from membranes (sheets that cannot maintain their shape under gravitational loads and thus 'flop') early on in development into plates (that can maintain their shape) as they mature. This transformation can be detected visually. Mechanical tests on two species of leaf eaten by southern muriqui monkeys (Brachyteles arachnoides) in Southern Atlantic Forest, Brazil, support a membrane-to-plate shift in turgid leaves during their development. A measure of this mechanical transition, termed lambda (λ), was found to correlate with both leaf color and toughness, thus supporting a potential role in leaf selection. Muriquis appear to select membranous leaves, but they also eat leaves that are plate-like. We attribute this to the degree of cresting of their molar teeth. A dietary choice restricted to membranous leaves might typify the type of 'fallback' leaf that even frugivorous primates will target because membranes of low toughness are relatively easily chewed. This may be relevant to the diets of hominins because these lack the bladed postcanine teeth seen in mammals with a specialized folivorous diet. We suggest that mammals with such dental adaptations can consume tougher leaf 'plates' than others.
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Magill CR, Ashley GM, Domínguez-Rodrigo M, Freeman KH. Dietary options and behavior suggested by plant biomarker evidence in an early human habitat. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2016; 113:2874-9. [PMID: 26903646 PMCID: PMC4801266 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1507055113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The availability of plants and freshwater shapes the diets and social behavior of chimpanzees, our closest living relative. However, limited evidence about the spatial relationships shared between ancestral human (hominin) remains, edible resources, refuge, and freshwater leaves the influence of local resources on our species' evolution open to debate. Exceptionally well-preserved organic geochemical fossils--biomarkers--preserved in a soil horizon resolve different plant communities at meter scales across a contiguous 25,000 m(2) archaeological land surface at Olduvai Gorge from about 2 Ma. Biomarkers reveal hominins had access to aquatic plants and protective woods in a patchwork landscape, which included a spring-fed wetland near a woodland that both were surrounded by open grassland. Numerous cut-marked animal bones are located within the wooded area, and within meters of wetland vegetation delineated by biomarkers for ferns and sedges. Taken together, plant biomarkers, clustered bone debris, and hominin remains define a clear spatial pattern that places animal butchery amid the refuge of an isolated forest patch and near freshwater with diverse edible resources.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Gail M Ashley
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ 08854
| | | | - Katherine H Freeman
- Department of Geosciences, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802
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