Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Zenger
Zenger
World
Martin M Barillas

Risky But Rewarding Food Strategies Gave Early Humans More Free Time

Hadza women share a meal of roasted tubers. Combining hunting and gathering with food sharing, group members can risk spending a lot of energy to find food knowing they won’t starve if they return to camp empty-handed, researchers say. (Herman Pontzer, Duke University)

Early hunter-gatherers used risky strategies that promised great rewards as they sought food before agriculture was prevalent. But those rewards weren’t just in the form of calories — they also gained free time.

They spent more time and energy than great apes to find food, but they brought back calorie-rich things to eat — and share. The ability to share large meals afforded them time to rest and more time to accomplish other tasks, researchers say.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.