http://radicalanthropologygroup.org/sites/default/files/pdf/class_text_069.pdf

Grandmothering and the evolution ofHomo erectus

This paper argues that ethnoscientists interested in folk biological classification have paid insufficient attention to the practical significance of such systems of cultural knowledge in their pursuit of general logical and/or perceptual principles governing the form and content of folk biological taxonomies. It is suggested that ethnoscientists adopt an adaptationist stance in recognition of the fact that cultural knowledge is used to guide behavior. The implications of such a shift in emphasis on folk biological classification theory are assessed. Present theory is rent by a fundamental contradiction between a formal taxonomic hierarchy model and one based on the contrast between a general purpose, biologically natural taxonomic core and special purpose, biologically artificial peripheral taxa. The natural core model is advocated as both superior in explanatory power and explicit in recognizing the purposes of classification. C. Brown's life-form universals are criticized for confounding the fundamental contrast between general purpose and special purpose life-form taxa. In conclusion, there is a discussion of the difficulty of developing a valid measure of the practical significance of a taxon, suggesting as a first step toward that goal the systematic description of each taxon's unique “activity signature.” Such activity signatures are then to be evaluated in the context of a culture's system of “routine action plans” which link cultural knowledge and adaptive behavior. The desired result is a new ethnoecology integrating ethnoscientific and ecological theory. [ethnoscience, taxonomy, folk biology]

https://anthrosource.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1525/aa.1982.84.4.02a00070

The Utilitarian Factor in Folk Biological Classification

Humans the world over have depended on wild-growing plants in their diets for hundreds of thousands of years, and many people continue to rely on these species to meet at least part of their daily nutritional needs. Wild harvested plant foods include: roots and other underground parts; shoots and leafy greens; berries and other fleshy fruits; grains, nuts and seeds; and mushrooms, lichens, algae and other species. Use of any of these species requires special cultural knowledge regarding harvesting, preparation, cooking and other forms of processing. Many were, and are, prepared and served in mixtures or combinations. In most cases, too, the species are managed, tended or manipulated in some way to increase their productivity and availability. Many of the most widely used species are categorized as weeds—species that grow and reproduce readily in disturbed or cleared land, and are common around human settlements and agricultural areas. This paper presents case examples of edible wild plant use and the roles of these species in agroecosystems from different parts of the world and discusses similarities and differences in use across different cultures and segments of society.

http://www.andreapieroni.eu/Turner%20et%20al.,%202011.pdf

Edible and Tended Wild Plants, Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Agroecology

Plant domestication and agronomic selection for increased yield may have an associated effect of reducing plant defence against herbivorous insects This hypothesis is based on evidence for a metabolic cost associated with defence, and on evidence that increases in yield generally come from the re-partitioning of photoassimilates rather than from fundamental increases in photosynthetic rates We propose that for plants in which domestication and crop development constitute strong selection for increased growth and reproduction, reallocation of resources may result in lower defence against insects We examine this hypothesis by means of comparative studies of growth, reproduction and resistance in a complex of maizes and closely related wild taxa, the teosintes The results of these studies are consistent with assumptions of differential investment in growth and reproduction between wild and domesticated plants A wild perennial grew slowest and had lowest grain production, while a modern cultivar grew fastest and had the highest grain yield A wild annual and a land-race cultivar were intermediate Damage from a diverse assemblage of folivorous insects, and from a specialist stemboring lepidopteran larva, fit the defence predictions closely A gradient of attack levels suggests that the wild perennial is most defended, followed in descending order by the wild annual, the land-race cultivar and the modern high-yielding variety Alternative hypotheses for this pattern are consistent with some, but not all, of our data

Effects of life history, domestication and agronomic selection on plant defence against insects: Evidence from maizes and wild relatives

Recently interest has been re‐directed towards the importance of plant foods in the evolution of human diet, and especially of deeply buried roots and tubers. The hypothesised qualities of these foods which have been stressed are their relative abundance in savanna areas, their nutritive value, their availability year round, and the minimal competition from other animals. It has been suggested that their inclusion in the diet would have conferred some selective advantage to hominids using simple tools such as digging sticks. This paper presents one of the first attempts of an actualistic study designed to measure quantitatively aspects of this food source that would be of importance to human consumers. The setting is a savanna area in northern Tanzania which is inhabited by a group who still extensively exploit tubers for food, the Hadza.

Plant foods in savanna environments: a preliminary report of tubers eaten by the Hadza of Northern Tanzania.

Two infants fed Kokoh, a Zen macrobiotic food mixture comprising cereal grains, legumes, and oil seeds, for a period of several months weighed 4.96 kg and 5.81 kg at 7 and 13 months of age, respectively. Kokoh formulas were evaluated by computation using food composition tables and chemical analysis. The computed energy value of Kokoh was within 3% of that measured by calorimetry. The daily intake of energy by the infants from Kokoh and other supplementary foods was about 400 Calories. This represents only 40% of the Recommended Dietary Allowances (R.D.A.) for the United States. The estimated protein intake was 11 gm for one child, and 13 gm for the other. The quality of the Kokoh protein as determined by computation was adequate for growth, but the analytical data suggested that the amino acid pattern was poor. The unsatisfactory nature of the formulas given to the infants was due to excessive dilution. There is a need for more definitive data on the feasibility of feeding infants Kokoh and similar foods, at a concentration that will meet energy needs. Further information is required on the amino acid content of plant foods used for infant feeding. Until more is known about feeding infants on plant food proteins, infants and children fed Kokoh should be kept under strict surveillance.

Zen Macrobiotic Dietary Problems in Infancy

(1972). The nutritive value of cooked camas as consumed by Flathead Indians. Ecology of Food and Nutrition: Vol. 1, No. 3, pp. 193-195.

The nutritive value of cooked camas as consumed by Flathead Indians

Zen Macrobiotic Diets

Common salt (sodium chloride) is an important condiment used widely throughout the world. Natural sources of this mineral include sea water and saline springs, but they are not present in many areas, including parts of tropical America, Africa and New Guinea. Some groups living in these regions have developed techniques for preparing salts from plant materials. In New Guinea, the Sanio‐Hiowe people of the Wogamus River do not have a natural supply of salt, but they have developed a technique for preparing a salty ash from the midribs of the sago palm (Metroxylon sp.). The ash was not used for salting other foods but was eaten by itself at irregular intervals. It was estimated that not more than 2 g of sago salts was consumed in a day by an adult. A chemical analysis of the minerals of the ash was made. The ash was strongly alkaline; 2 g of the material would provide 12 mg sodium, 526 mg potassium, 234 calcium and 69 mg of magnesium. In addition to supplementing the dietary intakes of these nutrients, the ...

Nutritive contributions of sago ash used as a native salt in Papua New Guinea.

(1976). The nutritional significance of maize and teosinte. Ecology of Food and Nutrition: Vol. 4, No. 4, pp. 243-249.

J. E. Konlande

Papers

Zen Macrobiotic Dietary Problems in Infancy

The nutritive value of cooked camas as consumed by Flathead Indians

Zen Macrobiotic Diets

Nutritive contributions of sago ash used as a native salt in Papua New Guinea.

The nutritional significance of maize and teosinte