[..]

> I have a question for Andrew:
> Why do you only go as far back as late Homo erectus?
>
> Steve Meyers
> Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
> Berkeley, CA 94720 USA
> [log in to unmask]

Archaeological evidence of teeth of Australopithecines suggests
heavy vegetable diets; probably largely seeds and grain.  Huge
molars, small incisors, much abraded wear on molars.  This is most
exaggerated in A. robustus, A. boisei etc.  But perhaps these more
specialized Australopithecines weren't our ancestors; rather they
might have been on other branches of the Hominid tree and have no
living descendants.  Depends on one's choice of cladistics.

Our pre-primate ancestors were primarily insectivorous.  Some suggest
their diet has influenced our needs: for protein, fat, vitamins etc.
Insects are a fine source of nutrition although generally abhorred
in European diets.

Perhaps our dietary needs developed over ongoing evolutionary time
and changes.

Perhaps the evidence of some modest number of healthy 'old' (80yr)
skeletons suggests our paleo period ancestors ate right and that
careful study of modern h-g diets confirm this per Boyd et. al:
_Paleolithic_Prescription_.

I'm not sure we have the final answer to this study.

Dick
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http://smith.syr.edu/~ddawson
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