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Among the Primates, Man is distinguished by his energy-rich diet and high metabolism. Although meat-eating and hunting behaviours exist in great apes such as the common Chimpanzee and Bonobo, Hominins have taken this adaptation much further to gain access to a calorie-rich food source. This ancient predatory behavior, probably rooted in their original lineage, has taken on an unprecedented scope in representatives of the Homo genus. In the early stages, this predation was probably combined with various forms of scavenging behavior.

In pursuing this evolutionary path, our ancestors and close cousins were drawn into a series of adaptive upheavals that modified their biology as much as their behavior. Above all, their relationship with the environment was also profoundly altered. Having become a predator, man has entered into direct competition with carnivores, particularly large carnivores. From the role of prey, he became a predator. The pressure he exerted on the environment directly affected both the species he exploited and those higher up the trophic chain. As early as the Palaeolithic period, groups of hunter-gatherers also practiced a form of landscape management for hunting purposes, in particular through the use of deliberate fires. Thus, long before the advent of agriculture, man had a significant impact on wild flora and fauna. In social terms, this original dietary orientation also had a profound influence on the organization of human groups. The sexual division of labor, food distribution circuits, demographics and the sharing of territories are all issues that can be examined in the light of this behavior.