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pg 579- There is evidence from domesticated animals and wild birds that food digestibility is reduced by exposure to cold (Blaxter 1989). <p> pg 580-It is the amount of available dietary fat which ultimately determines the success of aboriginal arctic adaptation. Constraints on human existence are ultimately imposed by physiology
there is an upper limit to the rate at which the liver metabolizes proteins and synthesizes urea and to the body's tolerance of the simultaneous water loss caused by these physiological activities. <p> pg 580- Ethnographic evidence from the New World Arctic indicates a general recognition that a critical ratio of fat to lean meat must be maintained and that a diet devoid of fat is starvation diet (Jenness 1922:100
Nelson 1969:179, 1973:142
Gubser 1965:215-216
Malaurie 1985:94, 262
Smith 1991:165). <p> pg 582-Neanderthal humans and other archaic <i>Homo sapiens</i> individuals may, however, have had an additional physiological problem- the need to counteract high protein intake in order to limit the loss of skeletal calcium. A very high-protein diet in modern humans results in <b>calciuria</b>, probably as a result of a high phosphorus intake with little corresponding intake of calcium (Draper 1977:310-311). <p> pg 582-Osteoporosis has been a problem in Inuit groups, even among those with a highly active traditional lifestyle, since before widespread contact with other peoples and acculturation to the industrialized West (Klepinger 1992: 125-126). <p> pg 583- Even though Neanderthal probably had a high protein diet, constant high level of activity would not have permitted bone resorption. Selection pressures to maintain a critical level of dietary fat may therefore have been more intense on Neanderthal humans than one more gracile humans. <p> pg 583- If the chemistry of prehistoric human bone and teeth documents a great deal of protein consumption, low reliance on carbohydrates, and no indication of marine resources in the diet, then adequate fat must be an essential dietary component for prehistoric humans. <p> pg 583-No reliance on marine resources or anadromous fish has ever been documented for European Mousterians
all dietary fat was supplied from land mammals or birds. ...[W]ith this dietary framework in mind, human were widely dispersed through the landscape in very small social groups that only rarely coalesced
no permanent large aggregations ever occurred. ...The main determinant of social organization was fictive kinship or partnerships rather than biological kinship. Few formal marriage partners, residence, or descent rules existed. There was little xenophobia, as strangers were considered friendly unless proven otherwise. Gene flow was promoted, and technological innovations spread quickly. <p> Binford (1992) argues that European Mousterian society was dramatically different from any observed in the ethnographic record. ...minimal association and social interaction between the two sexes, profound sexual dimorphism of labor, and sexual differences in philopatry. <p> Mellars (1996:356-365) critiques Binford's model stating that "home bases" cannot be rejected. Consequently, he believes that one need not postulate differences in social organization, except in degree, between Middle and Upper Palaeolithic humans in Europe. <p> 3 integrated stages of human subsistence during the Middle and Upper Palaeolithic in Europe. They have a ripple effect, effecting population size, then hunting techniques, foraging behavior, individual activity levels.</br> 1)subsistence stage (Middle Palaeoithic), meat and fat from land mammals are the principal dietary components</br> 2)increase in dietary fat just prior to the advent of the early Upper Paleolithic results in population growth</br> 3)dietary base is broadened through the incorporation of more carbohydrates as large group size and consequent division of labor make the gathering of plant foods cost-effective. New hunting techniques as well as new vertebrate prey species (alpine ungulate, suids, birds, anadromous fishes) provide new sources of protein and fat. <p> pg 584- Upper Palaeolithic loss in activity level reduced the selective advantage for skeletal robusticity. ,p> Early modern human resemble Neanderthals more than they do recent modern humans in postcranial robusticity (Ruff et al 1993). <p> pg 586- Population increase has profound behavioral and morphological consequences. The European Upper Palaeolithic is characterized by population growth and dispersal (Mellars 1992, 1996:405-411). <p> Greater availability and predictability of dietary fat would increase human population size, perhaps by affecting female fertility through nutritional changes reducing the age at menarche and intervals between births.
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