Our lab has a strong interest in the material properties of primate foods. A quantitative assessment of food mechanical properties is essential for understanding how primates perceive edibility. Our observations of primate foraging behavior suggest that texture - among other sensory cues, such as color, smell, and taste - are integrated in a primate's central nervous system to achieve a global perception of food edibility. The deliberate assessment of food texture is sometimes a conspicuous behavior during foraging (Figure 1).

The measurement of food material properties is also essential for understanding why the teeth and jaws of primates vary in shape and size, among other attributes. It is assumed that some craniodental traits have evolved in response to the mechanical demands of chewing important foods. Yet relatively few empirical data exist on the mechanical properties of primate foods, especially the putative foods of early human ancestors.