Amadeus Schmidt wrote:

> I agree that for existing huntergatherers hunting *was* safe and easy.
> It just makes no sense to risk one's bones or life for the sake
> of a few calories.
> Real hunting people hunt what is shure, e.g. shoot an antelope with a
> poisoned arrow, or an elk with an arrow.
>
> Hunting mammoth with wooden spears shurely was different.
> The robust neanderthals did it. And Cro Magnon? (I think so but I'm not
> shure of evidences)

I think you are missing an important point, Amadeus, with
your logic. Hunting is just plain fun. Thrilling, exciting,
heart pounding fun. You should read some of the vast
literature written by and for hunters, going after the most
dangerous game, to get a sense of what paleo people may have
been like. Not just cheaters, with cars and high powered
rifles, but men stalking to within a few feet of dangerous
prey with primitive weapons. The Zulu hunted elephant with
axes!, hamstringing them then finishing them off with
spears.

But even small, non dangerous game is thrilling to hunt. It
is often compared to sex, but it is not a simple physical
pleasure concentrated in an organ. It is more like the wild
thrill of your first time sex, heart pounding, whole body
shaking with adrenaline. I often think that people addicted
to cocaine and gambling and crime are seeking the lost
thrill of the hunt, that we are programmed for.