A hypothesis to explain the role of meat-eating in human evolution

Evolutionary Anthropology

Volumn 8, Issue 1, 1999, Pages 11-21

  Milton, Katharine ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA   (United States)

Author keywords

Animal prey; Apes; Diet; Digestive kinetics; Evolution; Gut anatomy; Hominoids; Humans; Meat; Primates

Indexed keywords

ALOCASIA MACRORRHIZOS; ANIMALIA; HOMO; PRIMATES;

EID: 0033243417     PISSN: 10601538     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1002/(SICI)1520-6505(1999)8:1<11::AID-EVAN6>3.0.CO;2-M     Document Type: Article

References (103)

1. Mitchell PCV. 1905. On the intestinal tract of mammals. Trans Zool Soc Lond. XVII:437-536.
2. Napier J. 1970. The roots of mankind. Washington DC: Smithsonian Press.
3. Eisenberg JF. 1973. Mammalian social systems: are primate social systems unique? In: Menzel EW Jr, editor. Precultural primate behavior. Basel: Karger. p 232-249.
4. Milton K. 1981. Diversity of plant foods in tropical forests as a stimulus to mental development in primates. Am Anthropol 83:534-548.
5. Stahl WR. 1965. Organ weights in Primates and other mammals. Science 150:1039-1041.
6. Rodman PS. 1977. Feeding behaviour of orangutans of the Kutai Nature Reserve, East Kalimantan. In: Clutton-Brock TH, editor. Primate ecology. London: Academic Press. p 384-413.
7. Fossey D, Harcourt AH. 1977. Feeding ecology of free-ranging mountain gorilla (Gorilla gorilla beringei). In Clutton-Brock TH, editor. Primate ecology. London: Academic Press. p 415-447.
8. Curtin SH, Chivers DJ. 1978. Leaf-eating primates of peninsular Malaysia: the siamang and the dusky leaf monkey. In: Montgomery GG, editor. Ecology of arboreal folivores. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Press. p 441-464.
9. Kuroda S, Nishihara T, Suzuki S, Oko RA. 1996. Sympatric chimpanzees and gorillas in the Ndoki Forest, Congo. In McGrew WC, Marchant LF, Nishida T, (editors). Great ape societies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p 71-81.
10. Yamagiwa J, Maruhashi T, Yumoto T, Mwanza N. 1996. Dietary and ranging overlap in sympatric gorillas and chimpanzees in Kahuzi-Biega National Park, Zaire. In: McGrew WC, Marchant LF, Nishida T, (editors). Great ape societies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p 82-98.
11. Goodall J. 1986. The chimpanzees of Gombe: patterns of behaviour. Cambridge: Blaknap Press of Harvard University Press.
12. Remis MJ. 1997. Western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) as seasonal frugivores: use of variable resources. Am J Primatol 43:87-110.
13. Wrangham RW, Conklin NL, Chapman CA, Hunt KD. 1991. The significance of fibrous foods for Kibale Forest chimpanzees. Philos Trans R Soc Lond 334:171-178.
14. Stanford CB. 1998. Chimpanzee and red colobus: the ecology of predator and prey. Cambridge; Harvard University Press.
15. Scott GBD. 1980. The primate caecum and appendix vermiformis: a comparative study. J Anat 131:549-563.
16. Floch MH, Van Noorden S, Spiro HM. 1967. Histochemical localization of gastric and small bowel mucosal enzymes of man, monkey and chimpanzee. Gastroenterology 52:230-238.
17. Elliott TR, Barclay-Smith MA. 1904. Antiperistalsis and other muscular activities of the colon. J Physiol 31:272-304.
18. Milton K. 1986. Features of digestive physiology in primates. News Physiol Sci 1:76-79.
19. Milton K. 1987. Primate diets and gut morphology: implications for human evolution. In: Harris M, Ross EB, editors. Food and evolution: toward a theory of human food habits. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. p 93-116.
20. Kay RF. 1977. Diet of early Miocene hominoids. Nature 268:628-630.
21. Milton K, Jenness R. 1987. Ascorbic acid content of neotropical plant parts available to wild monkeys and bats. Experientia 43:339-342.
22. Milton K, Demment M. 1988. Digestive and passage kinetics of chimpanzees fed high and low fiber diets and comparison with human data. J Nutr 118:1-7.
23. Martin RD, Chivers DJ, MacLarnon AM, Hladik CM. 1985. Gastrointestinal allometry in Primates and other mammals. In: Jungers WL, editor. Size and scaling in primate biology. New York: Plenum Press. p 61-139.
24. Sibly RM. 1981. Strategies of digestion and defectation. In: Townsend CR, Calow P, editors. Physiological ecology. Oxford: Blackwell Scientific. p 109-139.
25. Gross JE, Wang Z, Wunder B. 1985. Effects of food quality and energy needs: changes in gut morphology and capacity of Microtus orchrogaster. J Mammal 66:661-667.
26. Wunder BA. 1990. Effects of increased energy need on gut morphology of two small herbivores, Microtus ochrogaster and Dictostonyx groenlandicus. In: Digestive strategies of animals. Proceedings of the Symposium on the Relationships Between Diet Composition, Feed Intake, Digestive Processes, Nutritional Absorption and Their Ecological Consequences, Washington, DC: Center for Biological Research, National Zoological Park. p 90-91.
27. Lee WB, Houston DC. 1993. The effect of diet quality on gut anatomy in British voles. J Comp Physiol 163B:337-339.
28. Lee WB, Houston DC. 1995. The rate of change of gut anatomy in voles in relation to dietary quality. J Zool Lond 236:341-345.
29. Savory C, Gentle MJ. 1976. Changes in food intake and gut size in Japanese quail in response to manipulation of dietary fiber content. Br Poultry Sci 17:571-580.
30. Piersma T, Gill RE. 1998. Guts don't fly: small digestive organs in obese bar-tailed godwits. Awk 115:196-203.
31. Karasov WH. 1993. In the belly of the bird. Nat Hist 11:33-36.
32. Lambert JE. 1998. Primate digestion: interactions among anatomy, physiology, and feeding ecology. Evol Anthropol 7:8-20.
33. Karasov WH, Diamond JM. 1985. Digestive adaptations for fueling the costs of endothermy. Science 228:202-204.
34. Miloslavich EL. 1925. 1. Racial studies on the large intestine. Am J Phys Anthropol VIII:11-22.
35. Gray H. 1901. Anatomy, descriptive and surgical. New York: Bounty Books, revised from the 15th English edition.
36. Clemens E, Phillips B. 1980. Organic acid production and digesta movement in the gastrointestinal tract of the baboon and Sykes monkey. Comp Biochem Physiol 66A:529-532.
37. Heller SN, Hackler LR, Rivers JM, Van Soest PJ, Roe DA, Lewis BA, Robertson JB. 1980. Dietary fiber: the effects of particle size of wheat bran on colonic function in young adult men. Am J Clin Nutr 33:1734-1744.
38. Van Soest P. 1982. Nutritional ecology of the ruminant. Corvallis, OR: O & B Books.
39. Uden P, Van Soest PJ. 1982. The determination of digesta particle size in some herbivores. Anim Feed Sci Tech 7:35-44.
40. Phillips B, Clemens E. 1981. Nutritional implications of ad libitum versus limited feeding in baboons. Lab Anim Sci 31:192-193.
41. Bjornhag G. 1972. Separation and delay of contents in the rabbit colon. Swed J Agric Res 2:125-136.
42. Milton K. 1979. Factors influencing leaf choice by howler monkeys: a test of some hypotheses of food selection by generalist herbivores. Am Nat 114:362-378.
43. Milton K. 1981. Food choice and digestive strategies of two sympatric primate species. Am Nat 117:476-495.
44. Milton K. 1984. The role of food processing factors in primate food choice. In: Rodman P, Cant J, editors. Adaptations for foraging in nonhuman primates. New York: Columbia University Press. p 249-279.
45. Wrick KL. 1979. The influence of dietary fibers on intestinal passage, laxation and stool characteristics in humans. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. Ithaca: Cornell University.
46. Ehle RR, Jeraci JJ, Robertson JB, Van Soest PJ. 1982. The influence of dietary fiber on digestibility, rate of passage and gastrointestinal fermentation in pigs. J Anim Sci 55:1071-1080.
47. Wrick KL, Robertson JB, Van Soest PJ, Lewis BA, Rivers JM, Roe DA, Hackler LR. 1983. The influence of dietary fiber source on human intestinal transit and stool output. J Nutr 113:1464-1479.
48. Caton J. 1997. Digestive strategies of nonhuman primates. Doctoral Dissertation. Canberra: The Australian National University.
49. Kelsay JL, Behall KM, Prather ES. 1978. Effects of fiber from fruits and vegetables on metabolic responses of human subjects. Am J Clin Nutr 31:1149-1153.
50. Mitchell WD, Eastwood MA. 1976. Dietary fiber and colon function. In: Spiller GA, Amen RJ, editors. Fiber in human nutrition. New York: Plenum Press. p 185-206.
51. Van Soest PJ. 1981. Some factors influencing the ecology of gut fermentation in man. Reprinted from Banbury Report 7: Gastrointestinal cancer: endogenous factors. Cold Spring Harbor: Cold Springs Harbor Laboratory.
52. Burkitt DP, Walker ARP, Painter NS. 1972. Effect of dietary fibre on stools and transit times and its role in the causation of disease. Lancet 2:1408-1411.
53. Liebermann LS. 1987. Biological consequences of animals versus plants as sources of fats, protein and other nutrients. In: Harris M, Ross EB, editors. Diet and human evolution. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. p 225-260.
54. Stevens CE. 1988. Comparative physiology of the vertebrate digestive system. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
55. Sibbald IR, Sinclair DG, Evans EV, Smith DLT. 1962. The rate of passage of feed through the digestive tract of the mink. Comp J Biochem Physiol 40:1391-1394.
56. Best RC. 1977. Ecological aspects of polar bear nutrition. In Phillips RL, Jonkel C, editors. Proceedings of the 1975 Predator Symposium. Missoula: Montana Forest and Conservation Experimental Station, University of Montana. p 203-211.
57. Morris JG, Rodgers QR. 1989. Comparative aspects of nutrition and metabolism of dogs and cats. In: Burger IH, Rivers JPW, editors. Waltham Symposium #7. Nutrition of dog and cat. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p 35-66.
58. Schaller GB, Hu J, Pan W, Jhu J. 1985. The giant pandas of Wolong. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
59. Johnson KG, Schaller GB, Hu J. 1988. Comparative behavior of red and giant pandas in the Wolong Reserve, China. J Mammal 69:552-564.
60. Dierenfeld ES, Hintz HF, Robertson JB, Van Soest PJ, Oftedal OT. 1982. Utilization of bamboo by the giant panda. J Nutrit 112:636-341.
61. Oftedal OT, Fulton KJ, Crissey SD, Roberts MS. 1990. Bamboos as a source of digestible energy for red pandas. In: Digestive strategies of animals. Proceedings of the Symposium on the Relationships Between Diet Composition, Feed Intake, Digestive Processes, Nutritional Absorption and Their Ecological Consequences. Washington, DC: Center for Biological Research, National Zoological Park. p 77-79.
62. Klieber M. 1975. The fire of life. Huntington, NY: Krieger.
63. Janis C. 1976. The evolutionary strategy of the Equidae and origins of rumen and cecal digestion. Evolution 30:757-774.
64. Andrews P. 1981. Species diversity and diet in monkeys and apes during the Miocene. In: Stringer CB, editors. Aspects of human evolution. London: Taylor and Francis. p 25-61.
65. Andrews P. 1995. Ecological apes and ancestors. Nature 376:555-556.
66. Clutton-Brock TH, Harvey PH. 1977. Species differences in feeding and ranging behaviours in Primates. In: Clutton-Brock TH, editor. Primate ecology. London: Academic Press. p 557-584.
67. Demment MW. 1983. Feeding ecology and the evolution of body size in baboons. Afr J Ecol 21:219-233.
68. Demment MW, Van Soest PJ. 1985. A nutritional explanation for body-size patterns of ruminant and non-ruminant herbivores. Am Nat 125: 641-672.
69. Milton K. 1980. The guts of the matter: a look at the comparative anatomy of the hominid digestive tract. Presented at Plenary Session on Diet, Annual Meeting of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists, April 1980, Niagara Falls, NY.
70. Milton K. 1988. Foraging behavior and the evolution of primate cognition. In: Whiten A, Byrne R, editors. Machiavellian intelligence: social expertise and the evolution of intellect in monkeys, apes and humans. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p 285-305.
71. McGrew WC. 1979. Evolutionary implications of sex differences in chimpanzee predation and tool use. In: Hamburg DA, McCown ER, editors. The great apes. Menlo Park: Benjamin/Cummings. p 441-464.
72. Tutin CEG, Fernandez M, Rogers ME, Williamson ES, McGrew WC. 1991. Foraging profiles of sympatric lowland gorillas and chimpanzees in the Lope Reserve, Gabon. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B 334:179-186.
73. McCance RA, Prior KM, Widdowson EM. 1953. A radiological study of the rate of passage of brown and white bread through the digestive tract of man. Br J Nutrit 7:98-104.
74. Walker A. 1981. Diet and teeth. Philos Trans R Soc 292:57-64.
75. Andrews P, Aiello L. 1984. An evolutionary model for feeding and positional behaviour. In: Chivers DJ, Wood BA, Bilsborough A, editors. Food acquisition and processing in primates. New York: Plenum Press. p 429-465.
76. de Menocal PB. 1995. Plio-Pleistocene African climate. Science 270:53-59.
77. McHenry H. 1992. Body size and proportions in early hominids. Am J Phys Anthropol 87:407-431.
78. Wood B. 1992. Origin and evolution of the genus Homo. Nature 355:785-790.
79. Vrba ES. 1995. The fossil record of African antelopes (Mammalia, Bovidae) in relation to human evolution and paleoclimate. In: Vrba ES, Denton GH, Partridge TC, Burckle LH, editors. Paleoclimate and evolution, with emphasis on human origins. New Haven: Yale University Press. p 385-424.
80. Sept J. 1998. Shadows on a changing landscape: comparing nesting patterns of hominids and chimpanzees since their last common ancestor. Am J Primatol 46:85-101.
81. Milton K, Demment M. 1989. Features of meat digestion by captive chimpanzees, Pan troglodytes. Am J Primatol 18:45-52.
82. Nelson RA. 1975. Implications of excessive protein. In: White PL, Selvey N, editors. Proceedings of the Western Hemisphere Nutrition Congress IV. Acton, Mass: Publishing Sciences Group. p 71-76.
83. Speth JD, Speilmann KA. 1983. Energy source, protein metabolism and hunter-gatherer subsistence strategies. J Anthropol Archeol 2:1-31.
84. Speth JD. 1989. Early hominid hunting and scavenging: the role of meat as an energy source. J Hum Evol 18:329-343.
85. Carpenter KJ. 1986. The history of enthusiasm for protein. J Nutri 116:1364-1370.
86. Carpenter KJ. 1994. Protein and energy: a study of changing ideas in nutrition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
87. Draper HH. 1977. The aboriginal eskimo diet. Am Anthropol 79:309-316.
88. Blumenschine RJ, Cavallo JA. 1992. Scavenging and human evolution. Sci Am 276:90-96.
89. Aiello LC, Wheeler P. 1995. The expensive tissue hypothesis. Curr Anthropol 36:199-211.
90. Lozy M, Herrera MG, Latham MC, McGandy RB, McCann MB, Stare FJ. 1980. Nutrition: a scope publication. Kalamazoo: The Upjohn Company.
91. Westoby M. 1974. An analysis of diet selection by large generalist herbivores. Am Nat 108:290-304.
92. Nagy K, Milton K. 1979. Aspects of dietary quality, nutrient assimilation and water balance in wild howler monkeys. Oecologia 30:249-258.
93. Langworthy CF, Deuel HJ Jr. 1920. Digestibility of raw corn, potato and wheat starches. J Biol Chem 42:27-40.
94. Jones DA. 1998. Why are so many plant foods cyanogenic? Phytochemistry 47:155-162.
95. Milton K. 1993. Diet and primate evolution. Sci Am 269:86-93.
96. Nutritive Value of Foods. 1981. USDA, Science and Education Administration, Home & Garden Bulletin #2. Washington DC.
97. Calloway DH, Murphy S, Balderston J, Receveur O, Lein D, Hudes M. 1992. Village nutrition in Egypt, Kenya and Mexico: looking across CRSP projects. U.S. Agency for International Development. Final Report.
98. Parra R. 1978. Comparison of foregut and hindgut fermentation in herbivores. In: Montgomery GG, editor. The ecology of arboreal folivores. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Press. p 205-230.
99. Harding RSO. 1981. An order of omnivores: nonhuman primate diets in the wild. In Harding RSO, Teleki G, editors. Omnivorous primates. New York: Columbia University Press. p 191-214.
100. Hamilton WJ III, Buskirk RE, Buskirk WH. 1978. Omnivory and utilization of food resources by chacma baboons. Am Nat 112:911-924.
101. Kay RF, Hylander WL. 1978. The dental structure of mammalian folivores with special reference to Primates and Phalangeroidea (Marsupialia). In Montgomery GG, editor. The ecology of arboreal folivores. Washington DC: Smithsonian Press. p 173-196.
102. Hamilton WJ III. 1987. Omnivorous primate diets and human overconsumption of meat. In Harris M, Ross EB, editors. Food and evolution. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. p 117-132.
103. Utami SS, van Hooff JARAM. 1997. Meat-eating by adult female Sumatran orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus abelii). Am J Primatol 43:159-166.