anthro food

what determines food choices

what determines food choices

Culture
Religion
Environment (seasonal/regional availability)
Economic
Personal preference

personal meanings of food

Comfort food
Celebration food
Food memory
Food aversions

lactase persistence

lactase (enzyme) is needed to break down lactose
a mutation prevalent in populations with history of dairying animal domestication
allows lactase production beyond early childhood

horticulture

cultivation of crops via simple tools

pastoralism

reliance on domesticated herd animals; meaning seasonal movement (following them as they move)

substinance strategies

hunting/gathering, horticulture, pastoralism, agriculture

natufian culture

15,000-11,500 YA
Evidence of status differences via differently painted masks given as grave goods

Agriculture

Not an inevitable step in human societal development
Many societies did not develop agriculture
Did not start just in once place

early agriculture evidence

Pottery and food storage
More permanent sites
Increased social complexity

impact of agriculture

controlling domestic resources
diet change
more technology (plough, irrigation)
specialisation of labour
sedentary society
other outputs are given more time (architecture, material culture)
increase in population & social stratification

domestication

Process of adapting plants and animals for human use
Selectively curating plants or raising animals based on desired qualities

animal domestication criteria

Already relatively docile
Easy to catch, feed, and keep alive
Must have quick, reliable breeding, and ample offspring
Must have family structure

agriculture drawbacks

decline in nutrition and health
increased opportunity for zoonoses
sedentary life = waste accumulation
higher populations favour herd diseases

food preferences

personal likes/dislikes
not cultural

food restrictions

periodic denial of certain foods
can be religious, for health, or because of a disorder
comes and goes

food taboo

deliberate avoidance for reasons other than simple dislike

pork taboo

1. Symbolic/interpretive perspective
Clean vs. unclean foods
For ancient Hebrews, pigs were classified as unclean
2. Cultural ambiguity
Adaptive/materialist perspectives
Environment of middle east made raising pigs maladaptive

cow taboo

hindu people do not eat beef because the cow is a sacred animal to them

why dont we eat dogs

In many cultures, dogs are useful
Service > meat
Dogs eaten in cultures where their services are not needed or when other food is scarce

food fetish

adamant devotion or aversion to particular food