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Our Origins Fifth Edition Clark Spencer

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Fifth Edition

The Library of Congress has cataloged the printed edition as follows:

Names: Larsen, Clark Spencer author.

Title: Our origins : discovering biological anthropology/Clark Spencer


Larsen, The Ohio State University.

Description: Fifth Edition. | New York : W.W. Norton & Company,


[2019] | “Previous editions published as OUR ORIGINS: Discovering
Physical Anthropology”—T.p. verso. | Includes bibliographical
references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2019019890 | ISBN 9780393680676 (paperback)

Subjects: LCSH: Physical anthropology.


Classification: LCC GN50.4 .L37 2019 | DDC 599.9—dc23 LC record
available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019019890

ISBN: 978-0-393-69720-9 (retailer ebook)

W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 500 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y.
10110-0017

www.wwnorton.com

W. W. Norton & Company Ltd., 15 Carlisle Street, London W1D 3BS


To Chris and Spencer,

with my deepest thanks for their help,

encouragement, and (unwavering) patience

In memory of Jack Repcheck

(January 13, 1957–October 14, 2015)

Editor, writing mentor, and friend


ABOUT THE AUTHOR
CLARK SPENCER LARSEN is a native of Nebraska. He
received his BA in Anthropology from Kansas State University and
MA and PhD in Biological Anthropology from the University of
Michigan. Clark’s research is in bioarchaeology, skeletal biology, and
paleoanthropology. He has worked in North America, Europe, and
Asia. He has taught at the University of Massachusetts–North
Dartmouth campus, Northern Illinois University, Purdue University,
and the University of North Carolina. Since 2001, he has been a
member of the faculty at The Ohio State University, where he is
Distinguished University Professor. He served as Department of
Anthropology Chair, 2001–2017. He teaches introductory biological
anthropology, osteology, bioarchaeology, and paleoanthropology.
Clark has served as president of the American Association of
Physical Anthropologists and as editor-in-chief of the American
Journal of Physical Anthropology. He is a member of the National
Academy of Sciences and a Fellow of the American Association for
the Advancement of Science. In addition to Our Origins, he has
authored or edited 35 books and monographs, including
Bioarchaeology: Interpreting Behavior from the Human Skeleton,
Skeletons in Our Closet, Advances in Dental Anthropology, and A
Companion to Biological Anthropology.
BASIC TABLE OF CONTENTS
To the Instructor xxii
To the Student xxx
CHAPTER 1 What Is Biological Anthropology? 3
PART I The Present: Foundation for the Past 25
CHAPTER 2 Evolution: Constructing a Fundamental
Scientific Theory 27
CHAPTER 3 Genetics and Genomics: Reproducing Life
and Producing Variation 55
CHAPTER 4 Genes and Their Evolution: Population
Genetics 91
CHAPTER 5 Biology in the Present: Living People 125
CHAPTER 6 Biology in the Present: The Other Living
Primates 167
CHAPTER 7 Primate Sociality, Social Behavior, and
Culture 207
PART II The Past: Evidence for the Present 233
CHAPTER 8 Fossils and Their Place in Time and Nature
235
CHAPTER 9 Primate Origins and Evolution: The First 50
Million Years 275
CHAPTER 10 Early Hominin Origins and Evolution: The
Roots of Humanity 311
CHAPTER 11 The Origins and Evolution of Early Homo
355
CHAPTER 12 The Origins, Evolution, and Dispersal of
Modern People 395
CHAPTER 13 Our Past 10,000 Years: Agriculture,
Population, Biology 451
PART III The Future: The Shape of Things to Come 483
CHAPTER 14 Evolution: Today and Tomorrow 485
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Dedication v
About the Author vi
Basic Table of Contents vii
Table of Contents ix
List of Two-Page Spreads xx
To the Instructor xxii
How This Book Can Help Your Students Discover Biological
Anthropology xxii
Aids to the Learning Process xxiv
Tools for Teaching and Learning xxv
Who Helped xxvi
To the Student xxx
CHAPTER 1 What Is Biological Anthropology? 3
BIG QUESTIONS 3
1.1 What Is Anthropology? 5
1.2 What Is Biological Anthropology? 7
What Do Biological Anthropologists Do? 7
ANTHROPOLOGY AT WORK Franklin Damann,
PhD 8
HOW DO WE KNOW? Franz Boas Invents
Anthropology, American Style 10
1.3 What Makes Humans So Different from Other
Animals? The Six Steps to Humanness 13
1.4 How We Know What We Know: The Scientific
Method 17
ANTHROPOLOGY MATTERS The Forensic
Anthropology of Decay 20
CHAPTER REVIEW 23
Answering the Big Questions 23
Key Terms 23
Study Quiz 23
Evolution Review: Biological Anthropology as Science
24
Additional Readings 24
PART I The Present: Foundation for the Past 25
CHAPTER 2 Evolution: Constructing a Fundamental
Scientific Theory 27

BIG QUESTIONS 27
2.1 The Theory of Evolution: The Context for
Darwin 30
Geology: Reconstructing Earth’s Dynamic
History 31
Paleontology: Reconstructing the History of
Life on Earth 31
Taxonomy and Systematics: Classifying Living
Organisms and Identifying Their Biological
Relationships 33
HOW DO WE KNOW? Catastrophes in the
Past: Their “Impact” on Evolution 34
CONCEPT CHECK Darwin Borrows from
Malthus 37
Demography: Influences on Population Size
and Competition for Limited Resources 37
Evolutionary Biology: Explaining the
Transformation of Earlier Life-Forms into Later
Life-Forms 38
2.2 The Theory of Evolution: Darwin’s Contribution
39
CONCEPT CHECK Pre-Darwinian Theory
and Ideas: Groundwork for Darwin’s Theory
39
2.3 Since Darwin: Mechanisms of Inheritance, the
Evolutionary Synthesis, and the Discovery of DNA
41
Mechanisms of Inheritance 41
The Evolutionary Synthesis, the Study of
Populations, and the Causes of Evolution 46
DNA: Discovery of the Molecular Basis of
Evolution 47
ANTHROPOLOGY MATTERS Ebola: The
Evolution of a Crisis 50
CHAPTER REVIEW 52
Answering the Big Questions 52
Key Terms 52
Study Quiz 52
Evolution Review: Past, Present, and Future of a
Fundamental Scientific Theory 53
Additional Readings 53
CHAPTER 3 Genetics and Genomics: Reproducing Life
and Producing Variation 55

BIG QUESTIONS 55
3.1 The Cell: Its Role in Reproducing Life and
Producing Variation 56
3.2 The DNA Molecule: The Code for Life 60
DNA: The Blueprint of Life 61
3.3 The DNA Molecule: Replicating the Code 62
Chromosome Types 63
3.4 Mitosis: Production of Identical Somatic Cells
64
CONCEPT CHECK The Two Steps of DNA
Replication 65
3.5 Meiosis: Production of Gametes (Sex Cells) 66
3.6 Producing Proteins: The Other Function of
DNA 68
CONCEPT CHECK The Two Steps of
Protein Synthesis 71
3.7 Genes: Structural and Regulatory 74
3.8 Polymorphisms: Variations in Specific Genes
75
Genotypes and Phenotypes: Genes and Their
Expression 78
3.9 The Human Genome: A Critical Window Onto
Human Variation 79
ANTHROPOLOGY MATTERS Genomic
Mapping: The Contributions of Genomics to
Understanding Human Variation and Evolution
80
HOW DO WE KNOW? Paleogenomics: The
Genomic History of Europe Gives New
Perspective on Migration, Gene Flow, the
Rise of Agriculture, and the Origins of Modern
Europeans 84
CHAPTER REVIEW 88
Answering the Big Questions 88
Key Terms 88
Study Quiz 88
Evolution Review: Insights from Genetics and
Genomics 89
Additional Readings 89
CHAPTER 4 Genes and Their Evolution: Population
Genetics 91
BIG QUESTIONS 91
4.1 Demes, Reproductive Isolation, and Species
92
ANTHROPOLOGY MATTERS Got Milk?
The LCT Phenotype: Lactose Tolerance and
Lactase Persistence 96
4.2 Hardy–Weinberg Law: Testing the Conditions
of Genetic Equilibrium 98
4.3 Mutation: The Only Source of New Alleles 99
4.4 Natural Selection: Advantageous
Characteristics, Survival, and Reproduction 103
Patterns of Natural Selection 103
Natural Selection in Animals: The Case of the
Peppered Moth and Industrial Melanism 103
HOW DO WE KNOW? Hardy–Weinberg
Visits the Classroom: The Case of PTC
Tasters versus PTC Nontasters 104
Natural Selection in Humans: Abnormal
Hemoglobins and Resistance to Malaria 109
The Geography of Sickle-Cell Anemia
and the Association with Malaria 110
The Biology of Sickle-Cell Anemia and
Malarial Infection 111
The History of Sickle-Cell Anemia and
Malaria 111
Other Hemoglobin and Enzyme
Abnormalities 113
4.5 Genetic Drift: Genetic Change Due to Chance
115
Founder Effect: A Special Kind of Genetic
Drift 117
4.6 Gene Flow: Spread of Genes across
Population Boundaries 119
CONCEPT CHECK What Causes
Evolution? 121
CHAPTER REVIEW 122
Answering the Big Questions 122
Key Terms 122
Study Quiz 122
Evolution Review: The Four Forces of Evolution
123
Additional Readings 123
CHAPTER 5 Biology in the Present: Living People 125
BIG QUESTIONS 125
5.1 Is Race a Valid, Biologically Meaningful
Concept? 126
Brief History of the Race Concept 126
Debunking the Race Concept 127
So-Called Racial Traits Are Not Concordant:
Race Is a Social Construct and Not a
Biologically Meaningful Concept 127
Human Variation: Geographic Clines, Not
Racial Categories 128
5.2 Life History: Growth and Development 129
The Growth Cycle: Conception through
Adulthood 129
ANTHROPOLOGY MATTERS Is Race
Real? 130
Prenatal Stage: Sensitive to Environmental
Stress, Predictive of Adult Health 132
Postnatal Stage: The Maturing Brain,
Preparing for Adulthood 132
ANTHROPOLOGY MATTERS Coronary
Heart Disease Starts Early: Prenatal Origins
of a Common Killer 136
Adult Stage: Aging and Senescence 138
Evolution of Human Life History: Food, Sex,
and Strategies for Survival and Reproduction
139
Prolonged Childhood: Fat-Bodied Moms
and Their Big-Brained Babies 139
CONCEPT CHECK Life History Stages in
Humans: Prenatal, Postnatal, and Adult 140
Grandmothering: Part of Human Adaptive
Success 141
5.3 Adaptation: Meeting the Challenges of Living
141
The Role of Climate in Human Adaptation:
Living on the Margins 142
Heat Stress and Thermoregulation 142
Body Shape and Adaptation to Heat
Stress 143
Cold Stress and Thermoregulation 144
Solar Radiation and Skin Color 145
HOW DO WE KNOW? Life on the Margins:
The Case of the East African Turkana
Pastoralists 146
Solar Radiation and Vitamin D Synthesis
149
Solar Radiation and Folate Protection
150
High Altitude and Access to Oxygen 150
The Role of Nutrition in Adaptation: Nutrients,
Energy, and Function 151
Macronutrients and Micronutrients 151
CONCEPT CHECK Adaptation: Heat, Cold,
Solar Radiation, High Altitude 152
Human Nutrition Today 154
Overnutrition and the Consequences of
Dietary Excess 154
ANTHROPOLOGY AT WORK Tsega
Gebreyesus, PhD, MPH 157
CONCEPT CHECK Nutrition Is Central to
Successful Adaptation 158
The Role of Workload and Activity in
Adaptation: Skeletal Homeostasis and
Function 159
ANTHROPOLOGY MATTERS Life in an
Obesogenic World: Understanding the
Obesity Pandemic in an Evolutionary
Perspective 160
Excessive Activity and Reproductive Ecology
163
CHAPTER REVIEW 164
Answering the Big Questions 164
Key Terms 164
Study Quiz 164
Evolution Review: Human Variation Today 165
Additional Readings 165
CHAPTER 6 Biology in the Present: The Other Living
Primates 167
BIG QUESTIONS 167
6.1 What Is a Primate? 168
Arboreal Adaptation—Primates Live in Trees
and Are Good at It 169
Primates Have a Versatile Skeletal
Structure 172
Primates Have an Enhanced Sense of
Touch 174
Primates Have an Enhanced Sense of
Vision 174
Primates Have a Reduced Reliance on
Senses of Smell and Hearing 174
CONCEPT CHECK What Makes Primates
Good at Living in Trees? 175
Dietary Plasticity—Primates Eat a Highly
Varied Diet, and Their Teeth Reflect This
Adaptive Versatility 176
Primates Have Retained Primitive
Characteristics in Their Teeth 176
Primates Have a Reduced Number of
Teeth 176
Primates Have Evolved Different Dental
Specializations and Functional Emphases
177
Parental Investment—Primate Parents
Provide Prolonged Care for Fewer but
Smarter, More Socially Complex, and Longer-
Lived Offspring 179
CONCEPT CHECK What Gives Primates
Their Dietary Flexibility? 179
CONCEPT CHECK Primate Parenting 182
6.2 What Are the Kinds of Primates? 182
The Strepsirrhines 187
HOW DO WE KNOW? How Adaptable Are
Primates? The Lemurs of St. Catherines
Island 188
CONCEPT CHECK Monkey or Ape?
Differences Matter 193
The Haplorrhines 193
ANTHROPOLOGY MATTERS Mitigating
Endangerment: Primates Matter 196
CONCEPT CHECK Strepsirrhines and
Haplorrhines Differ in Their Anatomy and
Senses 200
CHAPTER REVIEW 204
Answering the Big Questions 204
Key Terms 204
Study Quiz 204
Evolution Review: Our Closest Living Relatives
205
Additional Readings 205
CHAPTER 7 Primate Sociality, Social Behavior, and
Culture 207

BIG QUESTIONS 207


7.1 Primate Societies: Diverse, Complex, Long-
Lasting 208
Diversity of Primate Societies 208
Primate Social Behavior: Enhancing Survival
and Reproduction 209
Primate Residence Patterns 210
Primate Reproductive Strategies: Males’ Differ
from Females’ 211
The Other Side of Competition: Cooperation
in Primates 212
CONCEPT CHECK Male and Female
Reproductive Strategies 212
HOW DO WE KNOW? Chimpanzee
Predators: A Model for Origins of Human
Hunting 214
7.2 Getting Food 216
7.3 Acquiring Resources and Transmitting
Knowledge: Got Culture? 217
7.4 Vocal and Nonvocal Communication Is
Fundamental Behavior in Primate Societies 221
ANTHROPOLOGY MATTERS
Ethnoprimatology: Understanding Human-
Nonhuman Primate Coadaptation and
Conservation in Indonesia 222
Translating Primate Communication: It’s about
the Context 224
Predator Alarms: In Defense of the Primate
Society 224
Chimpanzee Vocalization: Labeling the World
around Them 226
ANTHROPOLOGY AT WORK Marcela
Benitez, PhD 228
Gesturing Is Not Limited to Humans 228
Nonvocal Communication: Learning Signing
229
CHAPTER REVIEW 231
Answering the Big Questions 231
Key Terms 231
Study Quiz 231
Evolution Review: Primate Social Organization
and Behavior 232
Additional Readings 232
PART II The Past: Evidence for the Present 233
CHAPTER 8 Fossils and Their Place in Time and Nature
235
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BUSINESS ORGANISATION.
Shortly after the outbreak of war, the Canadian Government made
a donation to the Mother Country of a large quantity of flour, and in
the beginning of 1915 the Baking Society purchased 10,000 sacks of
this flour. The committee decided that when the bags were emptied
they should be sold as souvenirs, and from their sale the sum of £87
was realised, which was distributed amongst local war charities. In
March of this year, the board had a very satisfactory conference with
the board of Kinning Park Society and the dairy employees of that
society. The subject of the conference was a project of Kinning Park
board that the dairy shops of that society should be fitted up for the
sale of teabread and pastries. Later, the board of the Baking Society
discussed the question of opening shops throughout the city for the
sale of smallbread and pastries, but owing to the difficulties imposed
by war conditions, the subject was dropped for the time being.
Immediately the Armistice was signed, however, the subject was
again taken up by the board, with the result that, at the 200th
quarterly meeting, proposals were submitted in which were
embodied a suggestion that the Society should open a development
account and offer to those societies operating in the Glasgow and
Suburban area, which were willing to co-operate with the Federation,
a proportion of the cost of fitting up shops for the sale of teabread
and pastry. In this offer it was provided that the shop, locality, and
scheme of fitting should be approved by the directors of the
Federation; that only U.C.B.S. goods and confections of Co-operative
manufacture should be sold for a period, the period suggested being
ten years. If these provisions were agreed to the Baking Society
would be responsible for one third of the cost of fitting up the shop,
provided that one third did not exceed £150. The scheme received
the hearty commendation of the delegates at the meeting at which it
was submitted, the only objection taken being to the fact that for the
time being it was confined to the Glasgow area.
THE PRICE OF BREAD.
Reference is made above to the part which was played by the
Federation in keeping down the price of bread. In November 1914
the price of the 4–lb. loaf was increased by a halfpenny; in January
1915 another halfpenny advance took place; and in March of that
year another halfpenny; while by the month of May the price had
risen to 8d. per 4–lb. loaf. In February 1916 another halfpenny was
imposed, and in May of that year yet another halfpenny; while before
control came into operation the price in Glasgow and Clydebank had
risen to 11½d. and in Belfast to 1/ for the 4–lb. loaf. A rather
remarkable note in one of the board minutes for 1916 is that which
states that a letter had been received from a co-operative society,
protesting against the action of the Federation in refusing to consent
to an increase in the price of bread. The secretary of the Federation
mercifully kept the name of the society out of the minute of the
meeting.
Prior to the beginning of 1915, the catering for the meals of the
employees had been done by a committee of themselves, but in
March of that year they approached the board with the request that
the Society should take over and carry on this work. During these
years the output of the Society was increasing gradually but surely.
For the year which ended in January 1915, the output was 230,780
sacks, an average of 4,440 sacks per week for the year, and an
increase of 440 per week in three years. On the 3rd of April, it was
reported that during the preceding week 5,351 sacks had been baked.
This constituted a record week’s baking for the Society, but for some
time afterwards, until the coming of Government Regulation flour,
record after record was made only to be broken. By the month of
September 1916, the turnover had risen to 5,410 sacks per week, or
almost a thousand sacks of a weekly increase in eighteen months. In
the end of that month, the output was 5,925 sacks, and by the end of
February 1917 the record figures of 6,012 sacks were reached. In
these increases all three bakeries participated, and the rapid increase
for 1916 and the early months of 1917 is all the more remarkable in
view of the fact that the amount of baking which was done for the
military was not nearly so great as it had been in the earlier months
of the war. On the last Saturday in 1916, 21,546 dozens of bread were
baked and seventy bridecakes made. There had evidently been an
epidemic of war marriages at this Hogmanay.
BISCUIT AND TEABREAD TRADE.
In the biscuit trade as well as in the bread trade, the directors
carried out as far as possible their policy of keeping prices as low as
was consistent with securing the Federation against loss, but the
rapidity with which the various ingredients for these luxuries of the
baking trade increased in price caused the prices to the societies to
be raised shortly after the outbreak of war. In March 1915, it was
decided to reduce the discount allowed on teabread by two and a half
per cent., in order to compensate in some measure for the increases
in the cost of materials. Toward the end of 1915 the Society found
that their stocks of biscuits were falling very low, owing to the
shortage of labour, as about 30,000 tins of biscuits were being sent
out every week. Systematic overtime was worked in the biscuit
factory with the object of overcoming the shortage. The Society were
also faced with a serious shortage of biscuit tins, due to the fact that
societies were not returning the empty tins promptly, while the
manufacturers were not able to supply the demand for new tins. To
meet this difficulty the directors authorised the purchase of a
machine for the manufacture of the tins. By the beginning of 1916 the
shortage of materials necessary for the manufacture of pastries, and
especially of sugar, was becoming very marked, and in March of that
year it was decided to stop the manufacture of a number of the
varieties of which sugar was a considerable ingredient. In May, it was
found necessary to advance the price of biscuits by, on the average,
nine shillings per cwt., yet, notwithstanding the high price, the
Society were having difficulty in fulfilling their orders. Earlier in the
year it had been decided to look out for suitable ground for an
extension of the biscuit factory, and at the quarterly meeting held in
September power was granted the directors to spend up to £9,500 in
purchasing land for this purpose. By October, the price of biscuits
was advanced other eight shillings per cwt., but as this was four
shillings per cwt. below the price which other merchants were
charging the societies were getting a very good bargain. In
November, it was decided to cease the manufacture of all French,
iced, and sugar-coated pastries, owing to the increasing shortage of
sugar.
THE SOCIETY AND ITS WORKERS.
At the outbreak of war many employees joined the Army or Navy,
and to these the Society decided to pay half-wages. As the months
passed, more and more of the younger men joined up, first under the
Derby Scheme and later under the Conscription Act, so that the
carrying out of the policy of paying half-wages meant the disbursing
of a considerable sum every half-year, and by the end of 1916 the sum
of £10,628 had been so expended; £7,892 being paid to dependants
and £2,736 retained in the hands of the Society at the credit of
employees serving with the Colours. At this time, 304 of the Society’s
employees had joined the Services, and eighteen had made the great
sacrifice.
This drain on the male workers of the Society brought troubles of
its own in its train. We have already seen that considerable difficulty
was being experienced in meeting the demand of customer societies
for biscuits, while the difficulty in meeting the demand for bread was
equally great. Toward the end of 1915, the Operative Bakers’ Union
consented to allow their members to begin work one hour earlier on
Saturday mornings, while a number of men who had been formerly
employed as “jobbers” were given full-time employment. In the
beginning of the following year an attempt was made to induce the
Bakers’ Union to permit the employment of women in the bakery,
but this permission they refused, although they admitted that
“dilution” was in operation in similar establishments. In July of 1916
an agreement with regard to dilution was reached, whereby it was
decided that, after all reasonable efforts had been made to obtain
male labour, females should be appointed in the same proportion as
apprentices; that two girls could be appointed for every man who
left, and that the arrangement was to continue for the duration of the
war or of conditions created by the war.
In that year some difficulty was experienced in getting the bakers
to come to terms with the employers in the Glasgow district on the
question of wages, but the dispute was finally adjusted after notices
to cease work had been handed in. The terms finally agreed on were
substantially those which had been offered by the Federation, and
gave the bakers an increase in wages of four shillings per week. The
bakers did not take kindly to the proposal to introduce female labour
into the bakehouse, and when the directors proposed to take that
step protested strongly, notwithstanding the agreement which had
been arrived at on the subject, and although they were working very
many hours of overtime each week. The directors therefore decided
that the question of the employment of female labour should be
referred to the War Emergency Committee, and that committee gave
their award in favour of the introduction of female labour into the
pastry and smallbread flats, but would not allow them to take part in
the baking of loaf bread.
DELIVERY DIFFICULTIES.
We have already seen that the needs of the war transcended all
other considerations in the opinion of the War Office officials, who
commandeered many horses and vans from the Society at the
outbreak of war and later. The difficulties of delivery thus created the
directors endeavoured to overcome by the use of motors for delivery.
But even machinery will not go on for ever without requiring repairs,
and as breakdowns became more frequent increasing difficulty was
being found in having the necessary repairs done, because of
shortage of labour of the necessary skill, and because also of the
shortage of the necessary material. Another delivery difficulty had a
different cause. The shortage of labour was general, and the retail
stores were as greatly handicapped as were other businesses. In 1916,
with the view of overcoming this handicap to some extent and at the
same time ensuring as far as possible that the shops should not be
open in the absence of skilled supervision, the societies adopted the
policy of closing their shops during the lunch hour. To some extent
this policy attained the object which the societies had in view, but as
soon as it was put into operation the Baking Society found their
delivery difficulties increased, for their vans had to stand idle while
the shops were closed. Representations on the subject were made to
the various societies, which gave very favourable consideration in
most cases, and the practice grew up of leaving one employee in each
shop to take delivery of goods which arrived during the lunch hour.
Early in 1916 the societies gave tangible form to their recognition
of the strenuous work which was being imposed on the directors by
circumstances brought about by the war; this tangible recognition
taking the form of an all-round increase in salaries and allowances
for committee work.
Yet strenuous as had been their work during those first two years
of the war, and great as had been their difficulties, the two years on
which they were about to enter were to provide even more strenuous
work and to produce difficulties which were so great as to prove
almost insurmountable. They were to provide conditions of bread
baking which were to change loaf bread from being one of the most
palatable forms of food into for the time being one of the most
detestable and detested.
While the Congress was meeting at Leicester in 1915, the news
arrived that Mr Duncan M‘Culloch, who had done so much to build
up the Baking Society, had passed away, and fitting reference was
made to his decease at the quarterly meeting in June, and also at the
annual meeting with the representatives of the Irish societies in July.
His death removed a man to whom the shareholders of the Baking
Society, and particularly the shareholders in Ireland, owed much,
and many were the expressions of regret when the news became
generally known.
CHAPTER XIX.
BREAD BAKING UNDER CONTROL.

FAMINE POSSIBILITIES—CHANGES IN QUALITY OF FLOUR—


FOOD CONTROL DEPARTMENT ESTABLISHED—BAKERS’
DIFFICULTIES—THE POSITION OF THE U.C.B.S.—A BIG
LAND PURCHASE—ILLNESS OF THE PRESIDENT—A
NATURAL WORKING DAY BY ORDER—ITS DIFFICULTIES
—ENTERTAINMENTS TO SOLDIERS—BRANCH BAKERIES
—IRELAND—LEADHILLS—ROTHESAY—BUTE CO-
OPERATIVE SOCIETY FORMED—SUBSIDISED BREAD—AN
INDUSTRIAL COUNCIL—DELIVERY DIFFICULTIES—
EMPLOYEES ON MILITARY SERVICE—THE END OF THE
TASK.

The first two years of the war had brought difficulties in their train
which the bakers of the country found considerable difficulty in
overcoming; but the conditions under which they were called on to
produce bread in the following two years were such as had not been
experienced for at least a hundred years, and there came a time when
the country was faced with the possibility of having to do without
bread altogether for a period. Fortunately this possibility did not
become reality, but it was the cause of material changes in the quality
of the flour used for breadmaking and of the conditions under which
the bread was made and sold which would have seemed impossible
before the war began. By the early winter of 1916 the possibility of a
condition of things obtaining which would prevent the importation
of foodstuffs, and particularly of wheat, in sufficient quantities to
provide full supplies for the population of the British Isles began to
force itself on the Government, so they appointed a gentleman to the
position of Food Controller and conferred on him almost despotic
powers. One result of this control of food was a drastic interference
with the milling of flour. In Scotland the millers produced flour in
ordinary times which contained a little more than 70 per cent. of the
wheat; the first fruits of the new order of things was a regulation that
the extraction from the wheat should be increased, by about 8 per
cent.
There can be no doubt that under the circumstances this
regulation was necessary. There was a time in the history of these
islands when practically all the food consumed by the people was
grown in the country; but during the lifetime of the last generation
this position had gradually altered until Britain was dependent on
wheat imported from abroad for four-fifths of the bread supply of her
people. There had always been pessimists who foresaw, as a result of
a war with a maritime power, a danger of interruption to the steady
supply of seaborne food which was necessary if the people were to be
saved from starvation, and who uttered warnings which passed more
or less unheeded; but the time had arrived when these warnings
seemed likely to become justified. Towards the end of 1916 it was
becoming apparent that there was likely to be a world shortage of
foodstuffs, and particularly of wheat, and doubts were being
expressed in well-informed circles as to whether there would be
supplies sufficient to enable the people to carry on until the 1917 crop
was ready. While this world shortage was due in a measure to the
war, because of the number of men who usually devoted themselves
to agricultural pursuits who were then engaged in war work of one
form or another or serving with the Forces, it was also due in large
measure to a world shortage for which Nature, through the medium
of a bad summer and a wet autumn, was responsible.
The result was that in this country the regulations affecting flour
extraction became more and more rigorous, until not only were
millers extracting a proportion approaching 25 per cent. additional
from the wheat, rejecting practically nothing but the outer husk, but
many other varieties of cereal, even including a considerable
proportion of maize, were pressed into service and mixed with the
flour from which bread had to be baked. In some cases potato flour
was also used for this purpose. Fortunately, the famine which had
threatened in the summer of 1917 was staved off, but the inveterate
submarine campaign waged by the Germans during the whole of that
year was responsible for the destruction of many food-carrying ships
and of many thousands of tons of wheat and flour which were being
conveyed to this country from America as well as of many other
varieties of food.
BAKERS’ DIFFICULTIES.
All this was the cause of much worry to bakers. They had been
accustomed to the manufacture of bread from flour the quality of
which was well known and regulated with almost scientific accuracy,
but under the new order of things they found the knowledge which
they had acquired laboriously over a long period of years almost
useless to them. So long as they were dealing with wheat flour, even
if that flour did contain a large proportion of offal which had
formerly been used to feed cattle, the position was not quite so bad,
for most of them had been in the habit of baking a greater or lesser
proportion of what was termed “wheaten” and “wholemeal” bread.
But when flour produced from rye, barley, and even maize had to be
added their troubles began, for only by chemical analysis was it
possible for them to determine the proportions in which the various
cereals were used, and these proportions were varied arbitrarily week
by week at the whim of the Wheat Commission authorities; while the
millers were absolutely prohibited from giving any information on
the subject. Thus, when after a series of experiments they had
ascertained the method by which they could produce the best loaf
from a given flour, they suddenly discovered that the mixture had
been altered, and that their experiments had to begin all over again;
and this continued to be the position for some time even after the
end of the war.
THE POSITION OF THE U.C.B.S.
While the position of the average private baker was that which has
been described above, the baking departments of Co-operative
societies found themselves in a very much worse position in direct
ratio as they had been loyal hitherto in the use of Co-operatively
milled flour. The flour mills of Scotland did not produce more than
one half of the flour which was used in the country, with the result
that the remainder had to be imported; but the Scottish Co-operative
Wholesale Society imported wheat and themselves milled practically
all the flour sold by them. The consequence was that as the quality of
“Government Regulation” flour deteriorated, the flour which was
supplied by the Wholesale Society’s mills, in common with that
supplied by the other millers, was of such a nature that bread baked
with it was inferior in quality and unpalatable. As, however, bakers
were compelled to take flour from the source from which they
procured it at the time when the Food Control regulations came into
force, those who had formerly used a considerable proportion of
imported flour were allowed to mix a good percentage of the flour
which was still being imported with the “Regulation” flour, and were
thus enabled to produce a comparatively white and palatable loaf;
while the Wholesale Society, which had not been in the habit of
importing much flour, were now allowed by those responsible for the
bread regulations to import only a very small proportion, and their
customers suffered accordingly. It was only after repeated
representations had been made to the Government and the Wheat
Commission that, ultimately, the proportion of imported flour which
Co-operative bakers generally were allowed to use was raised
considerably.
From this cause the Baking Society was as great a sufferer as were
the others. The bread became more and more unpalatable as the
admixture of foreign cereals in the flour used increased, and
complaints about the quality of the bread began to come in with
irritating frequency. The receipt of these complaints, justifiable as
they were, must have been all the more irritating to the committee
from the fact that they found themselves the victims of
circumstances over which they had not the slightest control. They
knew that the bread which they were producing was unpalatable, and
the fact that the Germans had to eat bread which was very much
inferior was but poor consolation in view of the fact that many of
their trade rivals were able to produce better bread because of the
larger proportion of white flour which they were allowed to use.
There ensued, as a consequence, a very considerable decline in the
bread sales of the Society. The customer societies would have taken
the bread, but their members could not and would not eat it. From
much the same causes the trade in biscuits and in teabread declined
also. The use of sugar in biscuits or in teabread was prohibited, as
was the manufacture of pastries. The result was that while the output
for the quarter which ended in October 1916 was 68,533 sacks, that
for the quarter which ended in October 1917 was 67,132 sacks, and
that for the corresponding quarter of 1918 was 62,867. And if the
details for loaf bread in M‘Neil Street alone are taken, the contrast is
still more striking. The output for 1918 had fallen below that of 1915
by over 400 sacks, and below that of the quarter which ended in
April 1917 by over 12,000 sacks.
A BIG LAND PURCHASE.
By the end of 1916 M‘Neil Street bakery, and particularly the
biscuit factory, was again becoming congested, and power was
obtained from the quarterly meeting to spend up to £9,750 on the
purchase of more ground. At the time this power was obtained, the
committee had under consideration the fact that the ground on the
east side of M‘Neil Street, extending from the Clydeside to Govan
Street, was in the market, and ultimately the purchase of this ground
was completed at a cost of £9,750. The ground contained an area of
6,590 yards. Much of it was occupied by buildings of a temporary
character; the only buildings of a permanent nature on the site being
two tenements at the southern end. This site has not yet been utilised
by the Society, but it forms an admirable property which is available
for any extensions which may require to be undertaken in the future.
Meantime it is let at a rental which gives a net return of 3⅓ per cent.
on the capital cost of the site.
ILLNESS OF PRESIDENT.
In November of 1916 Mr Gerrard was laid aside for a number of
weeks by a severe illness, from which, fortunately, he recovered after
a time. With the exception of one short interval, he was able to carry
out his duties until the beginning of November 1918, when he was
again laid aside with an illness so severe in its nature that ultimately
he was informed by his medical adviser that he would have to give up
all thought of public work for the future. The last regular meeting of
the committee at which he was able to be in attendance was that held
on 10th October 1918.
A NATURAL WORKING DAY—BY ORDER.
Several years before the outbreak of war the directors of the
Baking Society made a determined effort to institute a natural
working day for bakers, but were unsuccessful, as a natural working
day meant the use of bread which was cold before it reached the
shops, and this the members of the stores refused to accept. In
March of 1917, however, the Government, impelled by the exigencies
of war, were able to do, practically with the stroke of a pen, what the
unaided efforts of the Baking Society had failed to do. This Order of
the Food Controller decreed that bread must be at least twelve hours
old before it was sold in the shops. It is quite likely that those who
devised the Order did not know and did not desire to know how their
proposals were going to affect those engaged in the trade. The bakers
were faced with the necessity of rearranging their methods at a
moment’s notice. They had to rearrange the working day, and also to
find storage accommodation overnight for their total day’s output,
and on Friday nights for almost double that quantity. One good
result of the Order was, as has already been mentioned, that the
working bakers at last obtained a natural working day, for their
hours of work were fixed to begin at 8 a.m. and to end at 4.30 p.m.
The storage difficulty was one which was more difficult to
overcome. At M‘Neil Street storage accommodation had to be found
for 84,000 2–lb. loaves on ordinary weekdays and for 156,000 on
Fridays. This meant the fitting up of every available space with racks
and trays in which to place the bread, and a very serious addition to
the amount of labour necessary. On the other hand it meant that
there would be a considerable saving on delivery charges, as societies
were able to take in larger quantities in the mornings, and so
minimise the duplication of deliveries. The difficulties were all
overcome, and, in a very short time, the delivery side of the business
was working as smoothly as the attenuated state of the delivery staff
could be expected to permit.
ENTERTAINING SOLDIERS.
During the years of war a feature of the philanthropic work of the
Society was the entertaining of large parties of convalescent soldiers
from the Glasgow military hospitals. The Society began this good
work in August 1916, when a party of convalescent soldiers from
Stobhill Hospital, numbering 200, were conveyed to Calderwood
Castle in brakes, and entertained there. The party were accompanied
by the Society’s Silver Band, and an enjoyable afternoon was passed.
Then, early in 1917, another party of wounded were taken to a
matinee at a theatre in the afternoon, and were afterwards conveyed
in brakes to the Society’s premises, where they had tea, and a
splendid concert was provided. Several of these theatre
entertainments were given, and were much appreciated by the
recipients of the Society’s kindness.
In another way the Society also showed kindness to men who had
been fighting their country’s battles. An “Overseas Club” for
members of the Colonial Forces had been established in Glasgow,
and during 1918 and 1919 a party of visitors from this club were
taken over the bakery every Thursday, being afterwards entertained
to tea, when the work which was being done by the Federation and
the principles on which it was managed were explained to the
visitors. Early in 1919, a letter was received from the Scottish
Sectional Board of the Co-operative Union, commending the
propaganda work which was being done in this way by the U.C.B.S.
directors, and offering a number of copies of “Working Men Co-
operators” for distribution. The Baking Society directors were much
gratified by this commendation and gladly accepted the gift of books,
which were afterwards distributed to the Colonial visitors.
BRANCH BAKERIES.
Various difficulties attach to a gigantic bread bakery which are not
apparent in the working of any other commercial concern of similar
size, and chief amongst these is that of rapid and cheap delivery. The
perishable nature of bread and the ease with which it is injured by
crushing make carriage by railway impracticable, while combined
with these difficulties is the fact that the majority of bread customers
desire to have it as soon after it is baked as possible. All these
disadvantages combine to limit the distance within which a bakery
can operate successfully to a radius of about twelve miles, and even
on the outer edges of that radius it is doubtful if the cost of delivery
does not counterbalance the saving caused by larger production. Yet
the advantages of having bread baked by a large Co-operative
organisation, instead of by many small ones, are obvious. In the first
place, the large buyer has the advantage of buying all the raw
materials used at rock-bottom prices: he has the advantage also of a
wider knowledge of the fluctuations of a market notorious for
rapidity of rise and fall, and this expert knowledge enables him in
normal times so to average the cost of flour used that it is always at
the lowest average possible.
It can be easily understood, therefore, that Co-operators,
struggling with adversity and yet desirous of providing Co-
operatively-baked bread for their members, should turn to the
U.C.B.S. for help.
In this way there had come to the directors within recent years
numerous calls for help. Unfortunately, the majority of these arrived
at a time when it was impossible to give the help desired. The first of
these calls came from Ireland. In and around Dublin there were
several small societies, having a combined membership of
somewhere over two thousand. The Dublin Industrial Society, after
unsuccessfully endeavouring a few years earlier to get the Baking
Society to help in the financing of a bakery in Dublin, had gone
ahead with the erection of a bakery for themselves, but it had never
been very successful. The Society itself was not too successful for a

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