TY - JOUR
T1 - Energy source, protein metabolism, and hunter-gatherer subsistence strategies
AU - Speth, John D.
AU - Spielmann, Katherine A.
N1 - Copyright:
Copyright 2014 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 1983/3
Y1 - 1983/3
N2 - During late winter and spring, hunter-gatherers in temperate, subarctic, and arctic environments often relied on diets that provided marginal or inadequate caloric intakes. During such periods, particularly when stored food supplies dwindled or were used up entirely, lean meat became the principal source of energy. Nutritional problems associated with high-protein, low-energy diets are discussed. These problems include elevated metabolic rates, with correspondingly higher caloric requirements, and deficiencies in essential fatty acids. The relative benefits of adding fat or carbohydrate to a diet of lean meat are evaluated in light of the protein-sparing capacities of these two nutrients. Experimental data indicate that although both enhance high-protein, low-energy diets, carbohydrate is a more effective supplement than fat. Given the nutritional inadequacies of a lean-meat diet, the paper concludes with a discussion of alternative subsistence strategies that increase the availability of carbohydrate or fat at the critical time of year.
AB - During late winter and spring, hunter-gatherers in temperate, subarctic, and arctic environments often relied on diets that provided marginal or inadequate caloric intakes. During such periods, particularly when stored food supplies dwindled or were used up entirely, lean meat became the principal source of energy. Nutritional problems associated with high-protein, low-energy diets are discussed. These problems include elevated metabolic rates, with correspondingly higher caloric requirements, and deficiencies in essential fatty acids. The relative benefits of adding fat or carbohydrate to a diet of lean meat are evaluated in light of the protein-sparing capacities of these two nutrients. Experimental data indicate that although both enhance high-protein, low-energy diets, carbohydrate is a more effective supplement than fat. Given the nutritional inadequacies of a lean-meat diet, the paper concludes with a discussion of alternative subsistence strategies that increase the availability of carbohydrate or fat at the critical time of year.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=6144258516&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=6144258516&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/0278-4165(83)90006-5
DO - 10.1016/0278-4165(83)90006-5
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:6144258516
VL - 2
SP - 1
EP - 31
JO - Journal of Anthropological Archaeology
JF - Journal of Anthropological Archaeology
SN - 0278-4165
IS - 1
ER -