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3 This is a book about vegetarianism and veganism, the prac- tices of eating foods other than meat, fish, and, sometimes, the products of these foods. A question that has intrigued research- ers for many decades is when vegetarianism first appeared. One of the most familiar narratives we have about the life of the earliest humans is that their diet consisted primarily of meat and meat products, especially bone marrow. This diet, some researchers have said, made possible the transition from our hominid (human-like) ancestors to the modern species of Homo sapiens, to which modern humans belong (see, e.g., Aiello and Wheeler 1995). Many researchers disagree with that analysis and say that plant materials constituted an important part, per- haps most, of the diet of early humans. To follow this story, with some of its complexities and ambiguities, let’s begin with the rise of H. sapiens. Prehistory The earliest date at which the human species is known to have existed is about 300,000 years ago (Hublin et al. 2017 Richter et al. 2017). That date falls within a period of human history known as the Paleolithic period, or Old Stone Age. As indicated 1 History and Background Pythagoras standing near a bean plant. “Do Not Eat Beans,” ca. 1512/1514. Pen and brown ink with watercolor on laid paper. Woodner Collection, Gift of Andrea Woodner, 2006. (National Gallery of Art)