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Date: | Tue, 10 Jul 2001 14:11:42 -0400 |
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On Tue, 10 Jul 2001, ardeith l carter wrote:
> Do we really know when people began herding sheep,
> goats, and cows? What would be preserved in the
> archaeological record to indicate "herding?" "Herding"
> did not suddenly appear in the neolithic. It was
> developed over time.....and probably began in the
> paleolithic or mesolithic somewhere in the world.
From what I have read, herding began in the Upper Paleolithic.
The Yukaghir of Siberia were reindeer herders, for example.
It makes sense that herding would have been an adaption of the
last glaciation during the Upper Paleolithic, the zenith of the
meat use curve in human history. This was the period of maximum
dependency on animal foods. It makes sense that the human talent
for maximizing the nutritional yield of a niche would have led to
the exploiting of the lactating animals, just as the African
Samburu do.
Todd Moody
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