Todd Moody wrote:

> Another scenario is this: Perhaps humans were already in the
> habit of soaking certain plant foods to make them more
> edible, such as some legumes, nuts, etc.  It has always
> seemed to me that soaking is a paleo
> technology, at the same level as hunting, drying meats, etc.   One can
> imagine fruits or berries being experimented with, and fermentation
> taking place. 

Hi Todd. I wonder if you remember me from this list a few years ago (sorry I
think I referred to you as "Tom" in another message in which I was trying to
remember people here after rejoining the list a few days ago). You'll
probably remember me if I mention that we had an off-list discussion about
the proper philosophical interpretation of quantum mechanics. If I remember
correctly, I was arguing that the Copenhagen interpretation is positivist
while you were arguing that is was not. In any case, it's good to see you
again.

Your scenario makes sense to me. I can see that paleos might have stumbled
upon wine while experimenting with fruits and berries. 

It seems however that the instructions for the production of alcohol
dehydrogenase were already present in the human genome long before we
started deliberately making alcoholic beverages. In Cordain's letter to Jim
he states "There are 7 known alcohol dehydrogenase genes in humans that
evolved from ancestral primate genes." He states further that all mammals
have genes for alcohol dehydrogenase. This suggests to me that modest
alcohol consumption is very firmly rooted in our paleo and pre-paleo past,
probably in the form naturally occurring fermented fruit.

-gts