Michael P. Richards and Jean-Jacques Hublin The study of hominin diets, and especially how they have (primates, modern humans), (2) faunal and plant studies, (3) evolved throughout time, has long been a core research archaeology and paleoanthropology, and (4) isotopic studies. area in archaeology and paleoanthropology, but it is also This volume therefore presents research articles by most of becoming an important research area in other fields such as these participants that are mainly based on their presentations primatology, nutrition science, and evolutionary medicine. at the symposium. As can hopefully be seen in the volume, Although this is a fundamental research topic, much of the these papers provide important reviews of the current research research continues to be undertaken by specialists and there in these areas, as well as often present new research on dietary is, with some notable exceptions (e. g. , Stanford and Bunn, evolution. 2001; Ungar and Teaford, 2002; Ungar, 2007) relatively lit- In the section on modern studies Hohmann provides a tle interaction with other researchers in other fields. This is review of the diets of non-human primates, including an unfortunate, as recently it has appeared that different lines interesting discussion of the role of food-sharing amongst of evidence are causing similar conclusions about the major these primates. Snodgrass, Leonard, and Roberston provide issues of hominid dietary evolution (i. e.
This volume brings together new and important research from the top experts in hominid diets across multiple fields. The objective of the volume is to explore if there is a consensus between the different methods, allowing us to better understand the nature of hominin dietary strategies through time. Contributions focus on modern studies, faunal studies, physical anthropology, archaeological studies, and isotopic studies, all aimed at answering the major questions of the evolution of hominid diets, such as: meat-eating emergence, hunting vs. scavenging, hunting technologies, and resource intensification in later humans.
From the reviews:
"This edited volume illustrates both the current promise and attendant frustrations of some important approaches to exploring ancestral diets as a guide to our evolutionary origins and identity". Jeanne Sept, American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 2010
"The papers reflect a wide variety of ap¬proaches to studying hominin diet, ranging from tradi¬tional faunal analyses to lithic and fossil perspectives on the origins of projectile technology. In the brief preface to the volume, the editors express the hope that the book will serve two purposes-first, to provide an up-to-date ac¬count of research on human dietary evolution; and second, to provide an introduction to aspects of research on the topic that are being undertaken in fields that may not be the reader's own. With a few minor exceptions, the volume succeeds at both of these goals, and as such, it will serve as a useful resource to anyone interested in human evolution more broadly. The volume does admirably well at providing both a summary of current research in the field while also presenting some new per-spectives. It will be a valuable addition to the libraries of those interested in dietary evolution, and would also serve as a useful jumping-off point for graduate-level seminars on the topic." Jamie L. Clark, PaleoAnthropology, 2009
