Uniting and Dividing Societies through Food

Paper Summary:

The following thesis contains a review of the positive and negative ways in which the search for food has impacted social man. It begins with an examination of prehistoric man and follows him through Peking Man's development, the Neolithic era of farmers and herders, and the Era of Expansionism heralded by the search for salt and spices. This thesis examines man's resourcefulness when confronted by food shortages; lastly, it concludes with a discussion of Darwin's evolutionary theory to elucidate the role of food in man's powerful drive to survive and evolve.

From the Paper:

"Beginning with prehistoric man, homo and femina sapiens needed to cooperate in order to be successful predators. The lions, wolves, and jackals they hunted and cooked were their main sustenance. During the Neolithic Era, man evolved into a super-animal who was no longer exclusively predatory; he was now a "settled farmer and stock breeder" (Tannahill, 1988) who could hunt, fish, gather, grow food, and domesticate animals.

Approximately two million years ago, as man continued to evolve, hominids, primates that were more like ape-like than man, developed into homo-erectus, primates who were able to stand erect and bore a more human than ape-like appearance (Stamps, 2000). Peking Man, the earliest, most well known representative of homo-erectus, was discovered in Beijing, China. Examination of the fossils of Peking Man indicate he was a hunter and cave dweller whose diet was mostly venison and other mammals. Most notably, Peking Man was able to control fire. Fire provided the caves with light and warmth but it also positively affected Peking Man's ability to prepare and enjoy food."

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