The Origins And Impact Of Modern Human Diets

本研究的重点是沿海觅食的起源和发展，以及这些食物在现代人类血统起源时期对人类认知和行为进化的影响。该项目本质上是跨学科的，结合了考古学、古植物学、古生态学、地质年代学和地质科学的研究。这在科学上具有重要意义，因为沿海食物，如贝类，是当今人们日常营养的重要来源，可以促进和维持产前健康以及青少年和成人的认知发展和维持。南非海岸角也是假设的现代人类血统的起源地之一研究人员假设，早期现代人类饮食中营养丰富的食物的涌入是否与他们迅速发展的认知进化有关，或者这些食物的消费是否直接影响了他们的认知发展？这个项目是第一个通过研究南非庞德兰（东开普省）的考古遗址和古环境来专门探索食用海产品的长期影响的项目。庞德兰是一个独特的地区，据推测，在过去的40万年里，海岸线一直保持不变。研究人员将使用最先进的方法挖掘沿海地区的考古遗址，并分析其地层学、海洋和陆地动物遗骸、植物遗骸以及地质年代测定。这些跨学科的记录将被用来测试关于何时、何地以及如何在当地的古环境背景下发展沿海觅食的长期问题，以更好地了解沿海食物对现代人类起源的更广泛影响。它将为食用含有高浓度大脑特定营养素的食物提供一个长期的进化视角。这些食物，包括贝类，可能与人类的认知和行为进化有关，但它们今天也被推广，以确保当代人的健康和福祉。通过这种方式，这项研究也将有助于当前饮食理论中关于适当营养和富含-3脂肪酸的瘦肉蛋白食物的争论。这项研究还将有助于更广泛地了解南非开普海岸的古环境，以及人类对冰期和间冰期气候变化的反应。除了沿海资源外，Pondoland的本土植被也古老、高产，紧密地排列在狭窄的沿海地带。每种植被类型都承载着各种各样的植物和动物物种，这些物种对早期现代人类的日常生存做出了贡献，这项研究将有助于更广泛地了解热带地区的生态和环境历史。该项目还汇集了来自南非、德国、西班牙、澳大利亚和美国的不同研究团队。它利用每个人更广泛的专业合作网络，将许多其他国家和研究专业联系起来，促进美国研究人员和学生与许多其他国际研究中心之间的多学科和国际研究合作。

This research focuses on the origins and development of coastal foraging and the impact that these foods may have had on human cognitive and behavioral evolution during the time of the origins of the modern human lineage. The project is inherently interdisciplinary, combining research in archaeological, paleobotanical, paleoecological, geochronological, and geological sciences. It is of scientific importance because coastal foods, like shellfish, are an important source of daily nutrients for people today that promotes and maintains prenatal health and juvenile and adult cognitive development and maintenance. The Cape coast of South Africa is also one of the hypothesized origin locations of the modern human lineage and researchers have hypothesized if the influx of nutrient-rich foods into early modern human diets there was linked to their burgeoning cognitive evolution or if the consumption of these foods influenced their cognitive development directly? This project is the first to specifically explore the long-term effects of eating sea foods by studying archaeological sites and paleoenvironments in Pondoland (Eastern Cape Province), South Africa, a unique area where the coastline is hypothesized to have remained the same throughout the last 400,000 years. The researchers will use state-of-the-art methods to excavate archaeological sites in coastal zones and analyze their stratigraphy, marine and terrestrial animal remains, plant remains, and geochronological dating. These interdisciplinary records will be used to test long-standing questions about when, where, and how coastal foraging developed within the local paleoenvironmental context to better understand the broader impact that coastal foods had on modern human originsThe research has numerous broader impacts. It will provide a long-term evolutionary perspective on the consumption of foods with high concentrations of brain-specific nutrients. These foods, which include shellfish, may be linked to human cognitive and behavioral evolution, but they are also promoted today to ensure the health and wellbeing of contemporary people. In this way, the research will also contribute towards current debates within dietary theory about proper nutrition and lean-protein foods rich in Omega-3 fatty acids. The research will also contribute towards a broader understanding of paleoenvironments across the South African Cape coast and the human response to climatic change during glacial and interglacial periods. Besides coastal resources, Pondoland's indigenous vegetation is also ancient, highly productive, and tightly packed into a narrow coastal zone. Each vegetation type hosts diverse plant and animal species that would have contributed to the daily survival of early modern humans and this research will contribute towards a wider understanding of the ecological and environmental history of tropical areas. This project also brings together a diverse team of researchers from South Africa, Germany, Spain, Australia and the United States. It draws upon each individuals wider network of professional collaborations, linking numerous other nationalities and research specializations to promote a robust multidisciplinary and international research collaboration between US researchers and students and numerous other international research centers.