ANT380H5 Lecture 4: ANT380 – Lecture 4 Study Notes
Document Summary
Quiz: chimpanzees are ripe fruit specialists, cooked food responsible for diverse morphological and behavioural changes in human evolution, hominids likely cooked food soon after controlled fire began - pre-existing preference. Optimal foraging theory: avoid injury, minimum threshold of minerals, vitamins, maximize calories (energy, predators, differential caloric payoff, figs, fruit, honey, meat, reproductive fitness, home ranges, optimized patterns, escape routes. Foraging imperatives: chimps seek to minimize effort i. e. energy expenditure, avoid injury, minimize time spent foraging, minimize antifeedants, fiber, tannins, toxins, maximize calories. How do chimpanzees select food items: although list of foods is long, chimps eat selectively, they pass by less-preferred items when they expect to encounter preferred items. Items are rank-ordered from the most highly desired to least: e. g. if they know item #24 is out there, pass by #225. Some items are eaten every time they encounter them while other items only when they are near starvation.
