> What do you mean with alcoholism? The moral bit, the economic
> bit or the medical bit? 

This I think this is an important question. It makes perfect sense to call
alcoholism a disease in the modern world -- alcohol has ruined many lives --
but it is not so clear that a dependence on alcohol would be properly
defined as a disease in the primitive world. 

I would guess that alcoholism was extremely rare in paleo times, assuming it
existed at all, but to the extent that it did exist I think I would have
trouble defining it as a disease. In general paleo people did not live long
enough to suffer from the medical problems associated with excessive alcohol
consumption, and their social world would not have been organized enough or
specialized enough to make public intoxication an important social problem.
In fact intoxication might have been an advantage, as drunken men would have
been more courageous in battle and in hunting and in their competition for
mates. This may explain why men have evolved a greater capacity for alcohol
than women. It also explains the existence of modern singles bars. :)

-gts