On Fri, 1 Apr 2005 12:52, Indrek Rebane wrote:

>Jim Swayze wrote:
>> Chocolate is also a bean.

Jim, your summary was excellent. Well done! It will be copied and circulated among families, in
workplaces and among friends for months if not years.

We each have slightly different ideas, but you are the one to actually put it all together.

>For correctness of the record, cocoa bean is just called a bean,
>it is not actually a legume. Same way as vanilla beans,
>Castor beans and coffee beans are not legumes.
>
>Similar to peanuts that are legumes; almonds and coconuts
>that are seeds of drupes (like olives, cherries and mangos);
>cashew nuts and pine nuts that are seeds; Brazil nuts that
>are seeds from capsules (like poppy seeds).

This is useful botany, but we are on the interface between botany and gastronomy here and the
gastronome's definitions may differ from the botanist's.

>> I believe that -- for men at least, who were primarily responsible
>> for the hunting part of the hunter-gatherer equation

>> our bodies are designed for periods of high intensity two or three
>> times a week followed by periods of rest.
>
>Actually being a hunter myself, I would think it was probably not like
>that. In addition to high intensity times, long distances needed to be
>travelled at normal speed. So walking around a lot, instead of using
>vehicles or sitting in room would sounds sane. 8 km in a day on rough
>terrain would be my estimate. Also quite a lot of spying was done before
>hunt. I'm hinting on need for mental exercises. I think animals did not
>used to come to a hunter and say: „OK, now chase me!� even back then.
>Just my guesses. Also, quite a lot of work needs to be done to gather
>plant based foods. People did not used to have a supermarket and
>health-store nearby.
>
>Those are just few of my thoughts
>
>Indrek

I think Jim's views can be accommodated within Indrek's more detailed description.  For an
imaginitive exposition of just what was most likely to have been the activity/movement profile
(totally consistent with Indrek's description) see "Play As If Your Life Depends On It" by Frank
Forencich - available through www.goanimal.com.

For more about exercise/activity/movement in the Paleo (Palaeo if you are European or learnt Attic
Greek at school) context also the 'sister' discussion list to this one:

http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/evolutionary-fitness.html

Keith