Ray, thanks for the references. I do not dispute that there are plenty of
compelling articles and studies to support the theory that there was
greature stature and health in paleo times and that this was a result of
diet, and as the author of NeanderThin I would not expect you to advocate
any other explanations! I will read those references if I find time, and
perhaps I will compile other references that support other alternative
hypothesis. My point here was simply that plausible alternative hypotheses
do in fact exist. I mention them because I always like to "keep it real" and
because I like to challenge myself and others to think hard about those
things we assume to be true.

The trend toward a larger head and a smaller, weaker frame is the current
evolutinary trend in our species. I believe this trend may reflect nothing
more than our increasing dependence on intellect and decreasing dependence
on physical strength. It may have nothing whatsoever to do with the foods we
eat.

Can you actually disprove the hypothesis that neolithic people were shorter
and weaker than paleolithic people because the physical demands on neolithic
people were less than those on paleolithic? Surely the short and weak were
not penalized so much by natural selection after humans settled down into
organized societies, and so a reduction in the size and strength of the
average adult fossil would be predicted by the principles of evolutionary
science without any consideration for changes in diet.

-gts


----- Original Message -----
From: "Ray Audette" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Sunday, March 12, 2000 3:10 AM
Subject: Re: [P-F] pardon this blasphemy


> > The evidence is much stronger than you assume.  I suggest you read:
>
>
>                                                          Cohen, Mark
Nathan,
>         The Food Crisis in Prehistory: Overpopulation and the Origins of
> Agriculture.
>                                             New Haven: Yale University
> Press, 1977.
>                         (How environmental changes led man to seek new
food
> sources.)
>                                ______, Health and the Rise of
Civilization.
>                                        New Haven: Yale University Press,
> 1993.
>                                        (How man's new food sources
produced
> new diseases.)
>                                         ______ and G. J. Armelagos,
>                                Paleopathology at the Origins of
Agriculture.
>                                        New York: Academic Press, 1984.
>                                     (A collection of papers that document
> the differences between Paleolithic and Neolithic remains.)
>
> Ray Audette
> Author "NeanderThin"
> http://www.neanderthin.com
>