A01=Julie J. Lesnik
Archaeology
Australopithecus
Author_Julie J. Lesnik
aversion
Calcium
calories
Category=JBCC4
Category=NKX
Category=PSAJ
Category=PSVA
Diet
Division of Labor
eating bugs
Edible Insects and Human Evolution
Entomophagy
eq_bestseller
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
eq_science
eq_society-politics
finding food
Food aversion
food habits
free
Global patterns
History of eating bugs
Hunter-gatherers
Insectivory
Iron
Julie Lesnik
living off the land
Macronutrients
Macrotermes
Micronutrients
natural diet
Paleo Diet
Protein
Recommended Daily Intake
survival
Sustainability
wild
wilderness
Product details
- ISBN 9780813064314
- Weight: 315g
- Dimensions: 152 x 228mm
- Publication Date: 12 Mar 2019
- Publisher: University Press of Florida
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Paperback
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Researchers who study ancient human diets tend to focus on meat eating because the practice of butchery is very apparent in the archaeological record. In this volume, Julie Lesnik highlights a different food source, tracing evidence that humans and their hominin ancestors also consumed insects throughout the entire course of human evolution.
Lesnik combines primatology, sociocultural anthropology, reproductive physiology, and paleoanthropology to examine the role of insects in the diets of hunter-gatherers and our nonhuman primate cousins. She posits that women would likely spend more time foraging for and eating insects than men, arguing that this pattern is important to note because women are too often ignored in reconstructions of ancient human behavior. Because of the abundance of insects and the low risk of acquiring them, insects were a reliable food source that mothers used to feed their families over the past five million years. Although they are consumed worldwide to this day, insects are not usually considered food in Western societies. Tying together ancient history with our modern lives, Lesnik points out that insects are highly nutritious and a very sustainable protein alternative. She believes that if we accept that edible insects are a part of the human legacy, we may have new conversations about what is good to eat—both in past diets and for the future of food.
Lesnik combines primatology, sociocultural anthropology, reproductive physiology, and paleoanthropology to examine the role of insects in the diets of hunter-gatherers and our nonhuman primate cousins. She posits that women would likely spend more time foraging for and eating insects than men, arguing that this pattern is important to note because women are too often ignored in reconstructions of ancient human behavior. Because of the abundance of insects and the low risk of acquiring them, insects were a reliable food source that mothers used to feed their families over the past five million years. Although they are consumed worldwide to this day, insects are not usually considered food in Western societies. Tying together ancient history with our modern lives, Lesnik points out that insects are highly nutritious and a very sustainable protein alternative. She believes that if we accept that edible insects are a part of the human legacy, we may have new conversations about what is good to eat—both in past diets and for the future of food.
Julie J. Lesnik is assistant professor of anthropology at Wayne State University.
