○ Using a hot stone as a griddle.○ Filling a pit with stones and covering it with leaves and earth.○ Filling a basket with water and hot stones.○ Stretching skin with water over a fi re.○ Filling a stone-lined pit (below the water table) with water and
hot rocks or smeared with clay and fi red.○ Stuffi ng entrails with other foods.○ Placing food on a wooden rack over hot coals in a pit (barbequing). What was eaten depends entirely on the region, but there are some
generalizations that can be made. The fi rst major distinction is
between those living near water and those inland in open grasslands,
where there are animals in herds. The inland people generally have
to move farther and more frequently than the coastal people.
Another generalization is that colder arctic and more northern
regions tend to have a narrower diet, like Eskimos on seals and fi sh.
In more tropical regions, the diet is much more varied with a greater
mix of vegetables, fruits, and meats.
Bigger jaws holding bigger muscles suggest rougher and rawer
food; smaller jaws of more recent humans suggest softer and
cooked food. There are more cavities, too, with the agriculturalist’s
diet of starches and sugars. Hunter-gatherers have more worn front
teeth and canines; agriculturalists’ molars wear down more quickly.
For more than 100,000 years, virtually everything humans ate was
wild. The animal species they ate were leaner, and the roots and
vegetables were stronger tasting, with all the fi ber and roughage
intact. They also ate a lot of nuts and berries, which many people
today claim are very good for your health.