Composition of Tubers Used by Hadza Foragers of Tanzania

Schoeninger, Margaret J.; Bunn, Henry T.; Murray, Shawn S.; Marlett, Judith A.

doi:10.1006/jfca.2000.0961

Cited by 128 publications

(67 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…Plant foods are of critical importance to African tropical foragers, and it is likely that Oldowan hominins relied predominantly on plant foods as well (Lee, 1979;Peters and O'Brien, 1981;Peters, 1987;Rodman, 2002;Schoeninger et al, 2001;Sept, 1986;Stahl, 1984;Vincent, 1984).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Old stones' song: Use-wear experiments and analysis of the Oldowan quartz and quartzite assemblage from Kanjera South (Kenya)

Lemorini

Plummer

Braun

et al. 2014

Journal of Human Evolution

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152

100

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Old stones' song: Use-wear experiments and analysis of the Oldowan quartz and quartzite assemblage from Kanjera South (Kenya) http://ljmu-new.eprints-hosting.org/313/ Article LJMU has developed LJMU Research Online for users to access the research output of the University more effectively. Copyright © and Moral Rights for the papers on this site are retained by the individual authors and/or other copyright owners. Users may download and/or print one copy of any article (s) AbstractEvidence of Oldowan tools by ~2.6 million years ago (Ma) may signal a major adaptive shift in hominin evolution. While tool-dependent butchery of large mammals was important by at least 2.0 Ma, the use of artifacts for tasks other than faunal processing has been difficult to diagnose.Here we report on use-wear analysis of ~2.0 Ma quartz and quartzite artifacts from Kanjera South, Kenya. A use-wear framework that links processing of specific organic materials and tool motions to their resultant use-wear patterns was developed in a suite of experiments. A blind test was then carried out to assess and improve the efficacy of this experimental use-wear framework, which was then applied to the analysis of 62 Oldowan artifacts from Kanjera South.Use-wear on a total of 23 artifact edges was attributed to the processing of specific materials.Use-wear on seven edges (30%) was attributed to animal tissue processing, corroborating zooarchaeological evidence for butchery at the site. Use-wear on sixteen edges (70%) was attributed to the processing of plant tissues, including wood, grit-covered plant tissues that we interpret as underground storage organs (USOs), and stems of grass or sedges. These results expand our knowledge of the suite of behaviors carried out in the vicinity of Kanjera South to include the processing of materials that would be "invisible" using standard archaeological methods. Wood cutting and scraping may represent the production and/or maintenance of wooden tools. Use-wear related to USO processing extends the archaeological evidence for hominin acquisition and consumption of this resource by over 1.5 Ma. Cutting of grasses, sedges or reeds may be related to a subsistence task (e.g., grass seed harvesting, cutting out papyrus culm for consumption) and/or a non-subsistence related task (e.g., production of "twine," simple carrying devices, or bedding). These results highlight the adaptive significance of lithic technology for hominins at Kanjera.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Old stones' song: Use-wear experiments and analysis of the Oldowan quartz and quartzite assemblage from Kanjera South (Kenya)

Lemorini

Plummer

Braun

et al. 2014

Journal of Human Evolution

Self Cite

152

100

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“…This is well illustrated in the ethnographic reports [30,75,76]. Plants with underground storage organs are present but require substantial effort to harvest and generally have low return rates and are fibrous [77][78][79][80][81]. Above-ground plant foods including fruits, seeds, pods and other edible parts are found mostly on bushes and trees [82][83][84][85].…”

Section: Which African Environments Have Dense and Predictable Food Rmentioning

confidence: 99%

The transition to foraging for dense and predictable resources and its impact on the evolution of modern humans

Marean

2016

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

113

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One contribution of 17 to a discussion meeting issue 'Major transitions in human evolution'. 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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“…Its tubers also have a higher protein content than Manihot esculenta Crantz (Schoeninger et al 2001) and they have a better amino acid balance than other cereals and tubers. In addition, the fiber content of Dioscorea tubers is higher than M. esculenta, Zea mays L., Oryza sativa L. and Triticum aestivum L. (Treche 1996).…”

Section: Nutritional Compositionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ethnobotany of <i>Dioscorea</i> L. (Dioscoreaceae), a major food plant of the Sakai tribe at Banthad Range, Peninsular Thailand

Maneenoon¹,

Sirirugsa²,

Sridith³

2008

Ethnobot. Res. App.

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Composition of Tubers Used by Hadza Foragers of Tanzania

Cited by 128 publications

References 14 publications

Old stones' song: Use-wear experiments and analysis of the Oldowan quartz and quartzite assemblage from Kanjera South (Kenya)

Old stones' song: Use-wear experiments and analysis of the Oldowan quartz and quartzite assemblage from Kanjera South (Kenya)

The transition to foraging for dense and predictable resources and its impact on the evolution of modern humans

Ethnobotany of <i>Dioscorea</i> L. (Dioscoreaceae), a major food plant of the Sakai tribe at Banthad Range, Peninsular Thailand

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