On Thu, 30 Aug 2001 16:58:44 EDT, Sheryl Canter <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

As early as the last century, most
>women did not live past 50.  It must have been exceeding rare for
paleolithic
>women to live this long.  So dealing with the effects of menopause is a
>thoroughly modern problem.

Once they make it through infancy, hunter-gatherer women live long lives
unless killed or injured...well past their child-bearing years.  The
Hobbesian belief that primitive life is/was "nasty, shortish, and brute" is
simply not true.

>The effects of menopause make it very clear that evolution sees no purpose
in
>post-menopausal women.

Elder women in tribal society play a very important, if genderless, role of
passing on tribal knowledge, wisdom, and lore to the children.  This is an
important contribution in addition to the other economic contributions made
to the tribe.

I also don't know if the paleolithic diet addresses any of
>the other problems associated with menopause.  I suspect not because so few
>paleolithic women lived to menopause or later.  Does anyone have any
>information on this?

I believe that the paleodiet certainly would help with "other problems
associated with menopause" (maybe not all), as it helps to regulate
hormones.

Brad