Miki Ben-Dor

Miki Ben-Dor
  • Doctor of Philosophy
  • Affiliate at Tel Aviv University

About

25
Publications
37,415
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485
Citations
Introduction
The association between nutrition and evolution in humans. Reconstruction of the Paleolithic diet.
Current institution
Tel Aviv University
Current position
  • Affiliate
Additional affiliations
January 2011 - present
Tel Aviv University

Publications

Publications (25)
Article
Full-text available
The worldwide association of H. erectus with elephants is well documented and so is the preference of humans for fat as a source of energy. We show that rather than a matter of preference, H. erectus in the Levant was dependent on both elephants and fat for his survival. The disappearance of elephants from the Levant some 400 kyr ago coincides with...
Article
Estimates of the human trophic level and dietary quality during the Paleolithic are the basis for many hypotheses and interpretations regarding human evolution and behavior. We describe an additional factor that could have significantly influenced human evolution and behavior, the availability of large prey animals. Given the importance of large pr...
Article
Full-text available
We hypothesize that megafauna extinctions throughout the Pleistocene, that led to a progressive decline in large prey availability, were a primary selecting agent in key evolutionary and cultural changes in human prehistory. The Pleistocene human past is characterized by a series of transformations that include the evolution of new physiological tr...
Article
Full-text available
The human trophic level (HTL) during the Pleistocene and its degree of variability serve, explicitly or tacitly, as the basis of many explanations for human evolution, behavior, and culture. Previous attempts to reconstruct the HTL have relied heavily on an analogy with recent hunter‐gatherer groups' diets. In addition to technological differences,...
Article
Full-text available
Despite one hundred years of intensive prehistoric research in the southern Levant, and particularly within the modern boundaries of the State of Israel, no decorated Upper Paleolithic caves were found in the region. Mobile imagery items are also altogether absent or rare. This frustrating state of affairs is completely unexpected, since the Leva...
Preprint
Full-text available
Megafauna extinctions are known from the Late Quaternary. This study analyzes trends in prey size from 184 contexts across 49 archaeological sites in southern Africa to assess changes in prey size during the Pleistocene, including the pre-Late Quaternary transition between the Early Stone Age (ESA) and the Middle Stone Age (MSA). Very large prey (>...
Article
The longstanding debate over human contribution to Pleistocene megafauna extinctions motivates our examination of plausible hunting behaviors that may have impacted prey populations. Prey size declines during the Pleistocene have been proposed as a unifying selecting agent of human evolution. Here, we identify prey selection criteria and exploitati...
Article
Full-text available
This paper examines the hypothesis that changes in hunting weapons during the Paleolithic were a direct response to a progressive decline in prey size. The study builds upon a unified hypothesis that explains Paleolithic human evolutionary and behavioral/cultural phenomena, including improved cognitive capabilities, as adaptations to mitigate decli...
Article
Multiple large-bodied species went extinct during the Pleistocene. Changing climates and/or human hunting are the main hypotheses used to explain these extinctions. We studied the causes of Pleistocene extinctions in the Southern Levant, and their subsequent effect on local hominin food spectra, by examining faunal remains in archaeological sites a...
Chapter
Full-text available
Humans consumed megaherbivores, including proboscideans, throughout the Pleistocene. However, there is a high potential for underappreciation of their relative importance to humans’ economy due to their potential relative underrepresentation in Palaeolithic archaeological sites. Relying on our previous work, we discuss the critical importance of la...
Thesis
Full-text available
It is currently assumed that Neandertals evolved gradually over at least 400,000 years in Europe. Neadertals disappeared from the fossil record in Western Europe (Spain, France) some 40,000 years ago (40 Kya). Anatomically modern humans (AMH) started to occupy parts of Europe 43,000 – 45,000 years ago, a few thousand years before the disappearance...
Article
Full-text available
Humans are limited in their capacity to convert protein into energy. We present a hypothesis that a “bell” shaped thorax and a wide pelvis evolved in Neandertals, at least in part, as an adaptation to a high protein diet. A high protein diet created a need to house an enlarged liver and urinary system in a wider lower trunk. To test the hypothesis,...
Article
Full-text available
Abstract Background and objectives: Recommendations to limit the dietary consumption of saturated fat have been adopted by public health organizations in most countries. However, recent scientific studies and reviews have questioned the alleged negative health claims regarding saturated fat. This research aims to provide a historical, evolutionary...
Data
Comparison of relative contribution of fat and protein between two Levantine sites - GBY and Qesem Cave. (XLS)
Data
Calculation of Daily Energy Expenditure (DEE). (DOC)
Data
Protein and fat content of African Game Animals. (DOC)

Questions

Questions (4)
Question
Update: This question is no longer valid as recently the said paper was approved for publication
This job may take 10 minutes to someone who speaks a language but I cannot practically do it without knowing the language.
For my research on past human perception of animal fat I need to sample as many languages as I can for various uses of the word "Fat" other than for the material itself. This is done by finding the words in a thesaurus for the value "Fat". For example, in French the results for "gras" are:
Strong, Abundant, Fecund, Fertile, Generous
(Fort, Abundant ,Fécond, Fertile, Généreux)
In English: fertile, fruitful, lucrative, productive, profitable, remunerative, rich, substantial, considerable, sizable; generous, handsome, ample, excellent, good, competitive.
In short, I need similar lists of the words in your language translated to English preferably with reference to the source (a web site address is also ok). The spelling in the original language will be nice but is not critical, just the meaning of the words in English will suffice
Many thanks
Miki
Update 14.4.2015 - Received replys for German, Dutch, Portuguese, Russian, Italian
Question
Khrameeva et al. found that Europeans possess many genes of Neandertals origin for the catabolism of lipids. My question is if these findings can be interpreted as pointing to a relatively high consumption of fats among Neandertals.
Khrameeva, E. E., Bozek, K., He, L., Yan, Z., Jiang, X., Wei, Y., ... & Khaitovich, P. (2014). Neanderthal ancestry drives evolution of lipid catabolism in contemporary Europeans. Nature communications, 5.

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