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Mon, 19 Jun 2000 06:04:49 -0400 |
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Hi all,
that's an interesting paleo article dealing with a variation of
a Beatles song: "Lucy at the Campfire with Tubers" ;-)
http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/CA/journal/issues/v40n5/995001/995001.html
It's an article about a relative new theroy, how early human evolution
could have been, and some follow-up comments (positive and negative)
of other scientists. Rather lengthy, PDF version took long to print,
28 pages long but the last 8 or so are the references.
It goes about how tooth change, brain expansion and
gut change in homo erectus could be explained best.
Two main theories exist dealing with the savannah environment
1.increased meat consumation as high energy food led to the change
2.increased available tubers and other underground storage organs
led to the change.
The article stresses the question, that a very early use of fire
may have provided a even more nutritious resource from tubers.
Numbers: from 400kg of edible tubers in rain forest to 40,000kg in savannah
per km*km. And from 20 edible raw to 41 edible, when cooked (on a campfire).
Then, was roasting potatoes (edible only cooked) on a campfire (i think all
have done this) .. a real homo erectus domain?
Was Lucy at a Campfire with Tu-u-u-bers?
:-)
cheers
Amadeus S.
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