Origen y desarrollo de los hábitos y costumbres alimentarias como recurso sociocultural del ser humano: una aproximación a la historia y antropología de los cuidados en la alimentación

Abstract

A mongst all creatures on earth, man is the only one that has a "sense of destiny" and is able to symbolise even what appears to be strictly physical and material objects or pheno-mena. Therefore, any food -fruits, vegetables, pul-ses, fish-can possess various symbolic valúes according to different cultures and eras. The cha-racteristics that link mankind with animáis, and the social organisations and abilities developed long ago constitute a precious legacy which -in slow, quiet but constant evolution-have survived until present. The role that food has played within human diet, the involuntary nutrition process and the conscious feeding action is approached here from an anthropological point of view, following a clear historie view.