On 10 August, 2004 05:26, Andrew Shelley wrote:

>
> In the wild state, the most important component of diet is energy content,
> and all free ranging creatures adopt strategies to maximise their access to
> it.

This seems to be based on the common assumption that food was hard to get.
I cannot agree, since, for example, it is only 150 years go that the plains of
North America were teeming with buffalo, other game was plentiful. The
natives of the west coast were well-fed with fish and clams. Life was easy.

It is farming that makes decent food scarce, and therefore cooking of (poor)
substitutes necessary.





. As far as I'm
> aware, no primitive tribe has ever been found that eats only raw food, just
> as none has been found that are vegetarian.

These are modern primitives, probably forced off the good hunting areas by
neolithic/modern farmers. No choice but to make do with whatever substitute
they could find for good food.


> Ancient cooking hearths of great antiquity have been found, raising the
> question of an evolved response to cooked food.


I suggest it's a drug response - first it make one feel good, then depressions
sets in, causing a craving for more cooked whatever. Probably only typical of
depressing neolithic culture such as ours.


> I seem to recall some
> debate on this list a long time ago - I'm not sure how far back the
> archives go.

Use of fire is old, but why assume it was always for cooking? IMHO paleoman
had no lack of imagination, surely they could have used fire for other
purposes.

William