About Me
Miki Ben-Dor
I am a Ph.D. in archaeology, affiliated with the department of Archaeology of Tel Aviv University. I research the connection between human evolution and nutrition throughout human prehistory.
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Paleofantasy or Paleofantastic?
“First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you and then you win”. This is the famous Gandhi quote rephrasing a quote by a forgotten US union leader by the name of Nicholas Klien.
The roll of … Read the rest
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A new paper in Nature lends support to the evolution of the Homo genus toward specialisation (in hunting)
I would intuitively argue that evolutionary adaptations, in any species, are more frequently associated with the need to obtain nourishment than with any other need, including sex.
The question of whether the Homo genus trended toward dietary specialisation or generalisation … Read the rest
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How varied could past Paleo diets have been and does it really matter?
From time to time a prominent Paleolithic researchers of one discipline or another remark, apparently in reference to popular Paleo dogma, that: “there were many Paleo diets” or that “there was no single Paleolithic diet”. The last one to … Read the rest
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The obesogenic effect of non-evolutionary “strange’ foods
I consider every morning I wake up as another piece of evidence in support of the hypothesis that I am alive. In other words, I try not to forget that most of our conclusions and understandings are no more than … Read the rest
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Why we gain weight and how to loose weight – the evolutionary answer
The basic reason why evolution has endowed us, and indeed every animal, with the ability to accumulate fat is quite obvious – the accumulation of an energetic buffer to be used at times of shortage.
What is less appreciated however … Read the rest
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Why we need such big brains part 2 – Ask the Bushmen
As you may recall from the previous post on the subject we are dealing here with two hypotheses generally referred to as “Specialization” and “Versatility”. In other words did our brain grow to enable us to hunt more efficiently (… Read the rest
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Why we need such big brains? – Diet versatility or diet specialization?
I am not going to waste the gift of your attention on the question of whether our brain tripled in size in the last 2 million years in order to enable us to obtain sufficient food for survival. Obtaining food … Read the rest
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Physicist Richard Feynman on the “science” of nutrition
There is little argument that Nobel laureate Richard Feynman was one of the greatest thinkers of his time. Tim Ferriss posted a YouTube video on his blog of Feynman’s interview for the BBC program Horizons. Tim quotes Professor Sir Harry … Read the rest
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Can anecdotes and history match science in guiding Paleo nutrition?
Abstract – Yes! Anecdotes and historical lessons can be as valuable as science in nutrition. This is how we managed to cross the first 2.5 million years of our existence as a species.
Several prominent Paleo thinkers came out in … Read the rest
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The real chimpanzee diet – Fat, Glucose, Protein and a little Fructose
“Our lineage goes back directly to the Chimpanzee. There is no need to look for a common ancestor”. I heard that statement not long ago in a lecture given by a famous physical anthropologist that has discovered an Australopithecus or … Read the rest
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