Dear Symposium Members

There is a difficulty for me when reading the Paleodiet symposium . I
wonder often whether the contributors are referring to the diet of early
hominids,  in  the African savannah , or, the diet of the people of the
glacial refugia in Europe circa 18 0000 when there must have been a low
population and consequently a bottleneck in the genetic inheritance of
those people who have any European ancestry at all. Which may involve
American with mainly African ancestors.  Thirdly I often get the
impression   that we are talking about Paleoindians of the Americas.
These are of course mostly derived from Asia and must have their genetic
inheritance from ice free areas of Eurasia during the maximum glacial
period.
the same would hold for the inhabitants of the Pacific, Australia and
New Guinea excepted.

I  have  interested in the diet of the Upper Palaeolithic in South West
France and Iberia  since I think I have heard that the geneticists say
that most Western Europeans are descended from them.  I wonder how it
has affected our inheritance in digestive functions and perhaps in
resistance to parasites?  I think the Scandinavians were excluded from
this population  Has any one on this list any up to date information
about this( ie 1997 information)? How about the Basques,are they like
the Etruscans,later?

I would like it, if I might suggest it, just to keep things tidy in my
archaeological mind , if list members would specify which hunter
gatherers they are citing  when talking about  ancient diets and the
actual material evidence for those diets.

Incidentally I am reading a book called <Time Walkers : The prehistory
of global colonization> by Clive Gamble  which brings up to date
information on the debate on hominid ancestries. and is available in
paperback  from Penguin (though I don't know about the USA) it is also
in hardback from Alan Sutton Stroud. UK
ISBN 0-7509-0321-X

gratefully

ME Wood MA Hons Edinburgh (Prehistoric Archaeology).