Plio-Pleistocene Diets Homo Sapiens H
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Origins and Evolution of The Western Diet: Health Implications for the 21st Century © Loren Cordain, Ph.D. Professor Colorado State University Fort Collins, CO USA The Hominin Fossil Record: Plio-Pleistocene Diets Homo sapiens H. floresiensis 0 H. erectus Paranthropus H. neanderthalensis boisei 1 H. heidelbergensis Australopithecus H. ergaster P. robustus Pleistocene H. antecessor habilis 2 Au. garhi Au. sediba Au. 3 rudolfensis P. aethiopicus Pliocene Kenyanthropus Au. platyops Au. africanus bahrelghazali 4 Ardipithecus ramidus Au. afarensis Au. anamensis 5 Millions of Years of Millions Orrorin . As many as 22 hominin species tugenensis 6 may have existed since the evolutionary split between 7 hominins and pongids (5-7 MYA) Sahelanthropus tchadensis . No universal diet existed, but 8 rather varied by ecologic niche, season, geographic locale, availability of edible foods Wood B. Palaeoanthropology: hominid revelations for Chad. Nature 2002:418:133-35 Plio-Pleistocene Hominin Diet: The Known – An Omnivorous Diet Minimally Processed, Wild Plants and Animals !Kung Woman displays fruits of her gathering: tamma melons, grewia berries, tortoise, roots Plio-Pleistocene Hominin Diet: An Omnivorous Diet – The Evidence The Diet of Our Closest Living Relatives Pan troglodytes, Pan paniscus Wild Chimps Eating Bushbuck . Primarily frugivorous . Diet varies by habitat & season . ~3-5 % animal foods (small vertebrates & insects) . During the dry season meat intake may reach ~ 65 g/day in adults 1. Schoeninger MJ, Moore J, Sept JM. Am J Primatol 1999;49:297-314 2. Teleki G. The omnivorous diet. In: Omnivorous Primates,Columbia Univ Press, NY, 1981 3. Stanford CB. The hunting ecology of wild chimpanzees: implications for the evolutionary ecology of Pliocene hominids. Am Anthropol 1996;98:96-113. Plio-Pleistocene Hominin Diet: An Omnivorous Diet – The Evidence Stable Isotopes Browsers “ It now seems inescapable that Grazers all hominid species inhabiting the Suids S. African landscape from the late Procavia sp. - Hyrax Pliocene to the early Pleistocene Papio sp. - Baboon exploited foods of C4 grass origin Theropithecus - Baboon and were very likely all Homo omnivorous ” Paranthropus robustus Lee-Thorp J et al. J Human Evol 2000;39:565-76 Australopithecus africanus P. Pardus - leopard Meganteron - sabertooth Crocuta-spotted hyena Hyaena brunea Chasmoporthetes (Pliocene hyena) -12 -10 -8 -6 -4 -2 0 2 more C3 more C4 13C %o (Grasses, Sedges) A. africanus Sponheimer M et al. Science 1999;283:368-70 Plio-Pleistocene Hominin Diet: The Uncertain – How Much Plant Food? How Much Animal Food? Homo sapiens H. floresiensis 0 H. erectus Paranthropus H. neanderthalensis boisei 1 H. heidelbergensis Australopithecus H. ergaster P. robustus Pleistocene H. antecessor habilis 2 Au. garhi Au. sediba More Animal Animal Food More Au. 3 rudolfensis P. aethiopicus Pliocene Kenyanthropus Au. platyops Au. africanus bahrelghazali 4 Ardipithecus ramidus Au. afarensis Au. anamensis 5 Orrorin Millions of Years of Millions tugenensis 6 . Beginning at least 2.5 MYA, a number of lines of evidence 7 indicate increasing reliance upon Sahelanthropus animal foods by some species of tchadensis 8 hominins Plio-Pleistocene Hominin Diet: Increasing Animal Food – The Evidence Oldowan Lithic Technology First Appears 2.5-2.6 MYA Semaw S. et al. 2.5-million-year-old stone tools from Gona, Ethiopia. Nature 1997;385:333-6 Plio-Pleistocene Hominin Diet: Increasing Animal Food – The Evidence Earliest Meat & Marrow Extraction (2.5 MYA) Hammerstone Percussion Pits SEM Scanning electron microscopy of a stone cut mark on the medial surface of an Alcelaphine bovid Hammerstone pits on Bovid (wildebeest/Hartebeest) mandible right tibial midshaft made during made during tongue removal marrow extraction De Heinzelin J et al. Science 1999; 284:625-29 Plio-Pleistocene Hominin Diet: Increasing Animal Food – The Evidence The Expensive Tissue Hypothesis 5000 4500 Brain 4000 Brain 3500 3000 Gut 2500 Gut 2000 1500 Organ Weight (gm) Weight Organ 1000 Liver Liver 500 Kidney Kidney 0 Heart Heart Observed (65 kg Human) Expected (Similar Sized Primate) Aiello LC et al. Curr Anthropol 1995;36:199-222. Plio-Pleistocene Hominin Diet: Increasing Animal Food – The Evidence The Expensive Tissue Hypothesis INTERPRETATION: . Relaxation of selective pressure formerly requiring a large gut cause by: . Increase in dietary quality . Increase in energy density Australopithecine Chimpanzee . Decrease in fibrous, high roughage plant foods . Increase in animal Modern Human foods Aiello LC et al. Curr Anthropol 1995;36:199-222. Plio-Pleistocene Hominin Diet: Increasing Animal Food – The Evidence Northern Latitude Colonization Dmanisi, Georgia H. ergaster/erectus 1.8 MYA Zhoukoudian, China H. erectus 800,000 YA Longgupo, China H. erectus 1.9 MYA Lake Turkana, Kenya H. ergaster 1.65 MYA Java Java H. erectus H. erectus ~40,000 YA 1.6-1.8 MYA Plio-Pleistocene Hominin Diet: Increasing Animal Food – The Evidence Evolutionary Biochemical Adaptations Similar to Carnivores Cats Humans 1. Synthesis of Taurine Lacking Inefficient (Semi-conditional) 2. Synthesis of vitamin A from beta carotene Lacking Inefficient 3. Desaturase enzymes Extremely low Low 4. Dietary B12 requirement Essential Essential Cordain L et al. The paradoxical nature of hunter-gatherer diets: meat based, yet non-atherogenic. Eur J Clin Nutr 2002;56 (suppl 1): s42-s52 Plio-Pleistocene Hominin Diet: The Uncertain – How Much Plant Food? How Much Animal Food? Homo sapiens H. floresiensis 0 H. erectus Paranthropus H. neanderthalensis boisei 1 H. heidelbergensis Australopithecus H. ergaster P. robustus Pleistocene H. antecessor habilis 2 Au. garhi Au. sediba More Animal Animal Food More Au. 3 rudolfensis P. aethiopicus Pliocene Kenyanthropus Au. platyops Au. africanus bahrelghazali 4 Ardipithecus ramidus Au. afarensis Au. anamensis 5 Orrorin Millions of Years of Millions tugenensis 6 . Clearly, plant:animal subsistence would have varied by season, geographic locale and food 7 Sahelanthropus availability tchadensis . Were there general trends? 8 Plio-Pleistocene Hominin Diet: The Uncertain – How Much Plant Food? How Much Animal Food? Clues From Historically Studied Hunter Gatherers: . The ethnographic data . Gray JP. A corrected ethnographic atlas. World Cultures J 1999;10(1):24-85. Analysis included 229 World Wide Hunter !Kung Hunter-Gatherers Gatherer Societies Butchering Giraffe Cordain L et al. Plant to animal subsistence ratios and macronutrient energy estimations in world wide hunter gatherer diets. Am J Clin Nutr, 2000, 71:682-92 Frequency Distribution of Subsistence Dependence upon GATHERED PLANT FOODS in World Wide Hunter Gatherer Societies (n = 229) 50 45 Mode = (26-35%) 42 45 Median =(26-35%) 40 35 35 35 30 30 Only 13.5% of all 23 25 societies have 20 > 56% 15 11 subsistence 10 6 2 upon gathered plant Societies (n) Societies 5 0 0 foods 0-5 6-15 16-25 26-35 36-45 46-55 56-65 66-75 76-85 86-100 % Dependence Cordain L et al. Plant to animal subsistence ratios and macronutrient energy estimations in world wide hunter gatherer diets. Am J Clin Nutr, 2000, 71:682-92 Frequency Distribution of Subsistence Dependence upon TOTAL (FISHED + HUNTED) ANIMAL FOODS in World Wide Hunter Gatherer Societies (n = 229) 50 45 Mode = (56-65%) 42 45 Median =(56-65%) 40 35 35 35 30 58 % of all 30 23 25 societies 20 have > 56% 15 11 subsistence 10 6 2 dependence Societies (n) Societies 5 0 0 upon animal foods 0-5 6-15 16-25 26-35 36-45 46-55 56-65 66-75 76-85 86-100 % Dependence Cordain L et al. Plant to animal subsistence ratios and macronutrient energy estimations in world wide hunter gatherer diets. Am J Clin Nutr, 2000, 71:682-92 Shortcomings of Ethnographic Data . The majority of ethnographic data is subjective & not quantitative . However, a few quantitative studies of hunter-gatherer diet do exist Bannock Indians (circa 1870) The 13 Quantitative Studies of Hunter Gatherer Animal: Plant Subsistence % animal % plant Population Location Latitude food food Reference Aborigines (Arhem Land) Australia 12S 80 20 McArthur, 1960 Ache Paraguay 25S 90 10 Hill et al, 1984 Anbarra Australia 12S 87 13 Meehan, 1982 Efe Africa 2N 44 56 Dietz et al, 1989 Eskimo Greenland 69N 96 4 Sinclair, 1953; Krogh & Krogh, 1914 Gwi Africa 23S 24 76 Silberbauer, 1981; Tanaka, 1980 Hadza Africa 3S 54 46 Blurton Jones et al, 1997; Hawkes et al, 1989 Hiwi Venezuela 6N 78 22 Hurtado & Hill, 1986; Hurtado & Hill, 1990 !Kung1 Africa 20S 33 67 Lee, 1968 !Kung2 Africa 20S 68 32 Yellen, 1977 Nukak Columbia 2N 61 39 Politis G, 1996 Nunamiut Alaska 68N 99 1 Binford, 1978 Onge Andaman 12N 81 19 Rao et al, 1989; Bose, 1964 Islands MEAN 69 31 Without Eskimo, Nunamiut 64 36 Cordain L et al. Eur J Clin Nutr 2002;56 (suppl 1): s42-s52 Plio-Pleistocene Hominin Diet: The Uncertain – How Much Plant Food? How Much Animal Food? Clues From “The isotope evidence overwhelmingly Stable Isotopes: points to the Neanderthals behaving as top-level carnivores” Neanderthal 1 Neanderthal 2 Wolf Actic Fox Herbivore Bison Deer 12 10 ) o 8 Neanderthal Mandible, Vi-207 11.41 from Vindija (29,080 + 400 Yr BP) (% 6 N 4 Richards MP et al. Neanderthal diet at 15 Vindija and neanderthal predation: the d 2 evidence from staple isotopes. Proc Natl Acad Sci 2000;97:7663-66 0 Plio-Pleistocene Hominin Diet: The Uncertain – How Much Plant Food? How Much Animal Food? “We were testing the hypothesis that these humans had a mainly hunting Clues From economy, and therefore a diet high in animal protein. We found this to be the Stable Isotopes: case. .” H. sapien1 H. sapien2 H. sapien3 H.sapien4 H. sapien5 Arctic Fox Deer Auroch Horse 8 Gough’s Cave Adult Cranium, ) o 6 OXA 2796 (12,380 + 110 yr BP) (% 4 Richards MP et al. Gough’s Cave N Human stable Isotope values 15 2 indicate a high animal protein diet. d J Archaeolog Sci 2000;27:1-3.