Anthropological Perspectives on Diet

Whether viewed frQm archaeQlQgical-histQrical, sQciQcultural, Qr biQmedical perspectives, fQQd is a basic CQncern for all human societies. Reflecting that basic concern, anthropologists have long been interested in human diets, and specifically in (a) the ecological and market availabilities of foods; (b) the sociocultural classifications of foods as edible or inedible, rankings as or less preferred foods, and rules for distribution; and (c) the nutritional and medical consequences of particular cultural consumption pat­ terns, including patterns o.f fo.o.d sharing. The o.ld proverbs, 'Tell me what yo.U and I'll tell who. yo.U (from the French), and Yo.U are what yo.U eat (from the German), PQint also. to. mQre general anthroPQIo.gical issues such as the relatio.nships o.f human Po.PulatiQns or so.cial groups to. their environment, the symbo.lic co.nstruction o.f cultures, and the so.cial relatio.ns and so.cial structures o.f so.cieties. whether explicated from cultural materialist (147, 281), ideo.Io.gical-structural (289), Qr SQme cQmbinatio.n Qf bio.Io.gical and sQcio.cultural perspectives (104), the determinants and results o.f dietary co.n­ structio.ns have continued to engage anthropologists of all subdisciplines. After summarizing past through current reviews and bibliographic sources, this essay will selectively review anthroPQlQgical studies Qn the sQciQcultural and biological determinants and co.nsequences Qf human diet, first histQrically and then by topic. The review will be organized to show ho.W the various dimensions o.f food systems (material, sociocultural, nutritional-medical) are interrelated and how certain problems they raise are shared. These include theoretical and methodological issues of intrapopulation (intracultural) varia-