Hi Theola

Just a few comments re hunting cycle.  I'm new to the list but have done a
reasonable amount of research on the Australian Aborigines. Just tp play
devil's advocate...

> Animals--and are humans so different?--tend to be opportunistic feeders,
> eating what they can when they can.

The cultural attitude towards each food item is an important ingredient in
the choice of food.  As Eidlitz (1969:42) states "Not even in times of
scarcity did people use all the plants that could serve as food".  Lilley
(1982:29) calculates that "about 13% of all available plant foods were
commonly or regularly used" by Aboriginal people in the Moreton Bay region
of Southeast Queensland.  Also according to Wing and Brown 1979:11) "Many
animals with flesh that, if eaten, would sustain life are not eaten because
they are not considered to be food"  There are many examples which I will
post if interested.  Obviously this applies to recent hunter/gatherers.
Whether it is applicable to Palaeo people I can't say.
>
> Do you really think paleo h/g's pushed hunger and survival aside to pass
> over a catch--"No, no, no, no, I won't kill and eat that fill-in-the-name
> animal today because he won't be fat for another x-number of
weeks/months."

This is quite common among Aborigines. For example in the Moreton Bay Region
where I live

"Carpet snakes were caught by the neck, and father has several times seen a
native catch and then feel a carpet snake, and if he were poor (in fat) let
him go (Petrie 1904:81)"

Tindale (1972:248) when speaking of desert Aborigines, noted that:

"When (kangaroo or euro are) killed they immediately feel the body for
evidence of the presence of caul [lower intestine] fat.  If the animal is
'njuka' or fatless, it is usually left unless they are themselves starving"
 Again whether this applies to palaeo people I can't say. I can't access my
endnote programme to give you the references at the moment but if you want
them I can send them when I have access again.

Cheers

Sean McBride
University of Queensland
Brisbane, Australia