Evolution of the human diet

The evolution of the human diet is an important research topic within physical anthropology and nutritional anthropology. It involves evidence drawn from human biology, nutritional science, the paleoanthropological analysis of hominin fossil remains, and comparative studies in primatology. Key issues that have been investigated to date include the functional relationship of dentition and craniofacial anatomy to diet, behavioral adaptations to diet (such as the use of tools and fire), the metabolic consequences of increased encephalization, and the relative evolutionary importance of meat-eating. Ancient hominin diets are inferred through a wide range of techniques, such as biomechanics, dental microwear analysis, stable isotope analysis, and paleoenvironmental reconstruction.

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