03013nam a22001337a 4500003000400000005001700004008004100021100002900062245009400091520259700185580005702782650001802839650002202857DOH20210430105121.0210430b           ||||| |||| 00| 0 eng d1 aCastaneda, Catherine Q. 00aPhilippine prehistoric diets: evidence from archeological facts /cCatherine Q. Castaneda3 aThis paper sought to gain an insight into the food habits of the distant past by looking at prehistoric diets that will indicate how ecological factors, particularly indigenous flora and fauna, were utilized to satisfy the food and non-food needs of the people and provide a starting point for a study of the evolution of modern diets. Prehistoric diets are evaluated mainly through archeological evidence-animal remains and osteological finds, as well as evidence from palynology and dental anthropological analysis. The reconstruction of prehistoric diets from archeological remains is based on incomplete record. Nevertheless, despite the limited data, it is still possible to draw some generalizations on probable dietary trends over time. One can see that prehistoric diets have largely been the result of mans exploitation of the resources around him. The currently available evidence from archeological finds does not permit a full evaluation of prehistoric diets in terms of meeting the nutritional needs of prehistoric man in the Philippines. However, records have shown that despite scarce food supply, farming communities of the past experienced population growth, some level of health and the favorable experiences of cultural development. Upon careful analysis it is a curious and bitter paradox that man, in the transitional periods to food production, exchanged many components of good physical health for opportunities to increase cultural complexity. The developments in food processing have resulted in losses of many nutrients (e.g. vitamins and minerals) and natural food components (e.g. fiber) so essential for health. Indeed, any of the so-called diseases of civilization are associated with the consumption of highly refined or proccessed foods. While Philippine cultural tradition with respect to food and diet remain an interesting area of research from the anthropological-sociological standpoint, here is a need to probe into how primitive diets have affected the physical and physiological characteristics of the current "stock" of Filipinos in terms of nutrition, physique and even temperament. This may be done by studying the diets of ethnic tribes that have retained much of the food culture of their ancestors. Data may be obtained through food consumption surveys, food composition analyses, biomedical surveys or nutritional status assessment, blood testing and other biochemical tests and informant medical histories. Comparison with acculturated counterpart groups may shed light on the biological adaptation of ancient man to the food available.(Author)  aJ Nutr-Diet Assoc Philipp, 1989 3 ( 4) pages 130-134 2aDietxhistory 2aDietzPhilippines