Abstract This paper discusses and examines the role and importance of diet in the evolution of hominids. The paper also looks at the substantial evidence of the link between increased brain capacity and power and evolution and diet among hominids. The paper concludes that diet played a significant role in evolution and that brain size is related to a radical change of diet in the distant past, however, diet should be seen in conjunction with and in relation to other factors.
Table of Contents:
Introduction and Overview
Brain Power and Diet
Conclusion
From the Paper "There are many theories about the way that diet affected evolutionary selection in hominids. There is little doubt that diet played a significant role and that brain size is related to a radical change of diet in the distant past. However, what scholars are also at pains to point out is that diet should be seen in conjunction with and in relation to other factors, such as social structure. As Spuhler (1959) states, "The change to a partially carnivorous diet had extremely broad implications for the social organization of early hominoids" (Diet, Evolution, and Culture). Diet and other factors should be considered in the intricate and immensely complex task of attempting to understand our origins through the evolutionary selection process of hominids."
