A hotly debated question: were the hominids hunting these animals, or scavenging from carnivore kills?
lots of bones from animals' torsos
hunters will often cut off the meaty limbs and carry them home, leaving the heavy, less valuable body behind
but there are a lot of these second-rate body parts in the hominid sites
not what you would expect of hunters using "home bases"
cutmarks can address the issue of hunting vs. scavenging
presence of carnivore bones and cutmarks on the same bones, at the same sites
when cutmarks and carnivore toothmarks cross, you can tell which was made first
in fact, they are all mixed up
sometimes carnivore chewing before stone tool butchery, sometimes after
suggests scavanging, and that carnivore were still around when hominids got there, or came back after they left
Fagan presents a mixed foraging and scavenging model
hominids forage for plants in the wet season
tooth wear evidence suggests australopithecines and H. habilis ate a similar diet to chimps, heavy on plants
scavenge meat in the dry season when there are fewer plants to eat
focussing on kills by carnivores in wooded areas near rivers
because the hominids need the protection of the trees
and because their large brains give them an advantage in finding these kills before other carnivores and scavengers get there
