This study, primarily a review on the evolution of the human diet, also includes a small study on the distribution of meat-eating and its relationship with climate and cultural factors, namely subsistence type. The authors find that societies with subsistence strategies that prioritize fishing, hunting, or pastoralism also tend to consume more animal products, whereas those that focus on agriculture have more plant-based diets. The authors argue that these small-scale societies have a healthier approach to diet than industrialized societies regardless of their subsistence type or meat consumption.

This paper is an investigation into the relationship between social differentiation as a proxy for societal 'development' and various categories of crime. A positive relationship is interpreted by the author as empirical cross-cultural support for Durkheim's theory that these two factors will increase together as parallel processes of 'sociocultural evolution'.

Pregnancy sickness is characterized by nausea, vomiting, and food aversions during pregnancy, particularly during the first trimester. Previous work has asserted an adaptationist explanation for this phenomenon: pregnancy sickness protects the embryo from the toxic compounds found in many foods via expulsion (i.e., vomiting) of potentially dangerous foods and by encouraging aversions to foods likely to harbor toxins or pathogens. The authors reexamine 27 small-scale societies previously investigated by Minturn and Weiher (1984) for evidence of pregnancy sickness and food aversions in light of the fetal protection hypotheses.

This study reviews the dietary habits of South and East Asia, Oceania, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America. Ethnographic descriptions and raw data are presented. The author concludes with several observed patterns: humans are carnivorous and become vegetarian by force of circumstance; taboos are more commonly used on meat than on plants; eating patterns conform to economic base; people tend to extract a fairly high percentage of available resources from their environment.

This article examines meat avoidance during pregnancy as an evolutionary adaptation. Data suggests that during pregnancy, meat avoidance is significantly more common cross-culturally than other types of food avoidance. The timing of meat avoidance, the presence of meat-borne pathogens, and sensory and ingestive changes in early pregnancy are also discussed.

This study seeks to shed light on the practice of entomophagy (insect consumption) across human population and seeks to explain the variability in its practice. The author explore potential ecological predictors for insect consumption (climate, subsistence practices, other available food resources, dietary needs) as well as cultural predictors (social transmission, cultural norms, evolution, and shift). Ultimately, the author concludes that entomophagy may be a useful medium through which to examine the interaction between social learning, subsistence strategies, and modernization.

This article proposes that differences in diet may account for the presence or absence of morning sickness in a society. Data suggest that morning sickness is not a universal symptom of pregnancy, and there are significant differences in foods consumed where morning sickness does not occur, including more maize, fats, and vegetables.

This study finds that meat taboos are more common than non-meat taboos cross-culturally. Several explanations for meat taboos are discussed. Authors advocate an evolutionary understanding of food taboos.

This study examines husband-wife relationships, specifically rooming and sleeping arrangements, as they relate to variables such as infant care, subsistence, residence, and cultural complexity. Several hypotheses are tested and all are supported.

The author performs tests of hypothesized relationships between arranged marriage and various forms of non-sanctioned mate choice. Overall, the author theorizes that where marriages are arranged, mate choice will be found in higher prevalence of premarital sex, extramarital sex, and rape. Most tests support these relationships in the hypothesized directions, suggesting that strict regulation of marriage provides parents with some, but far from complete control over the mate choice of their offspring.