I wrote a paper on residues on 2 million year old stone tools a few years
ago (we thought the residues might be tubers) and read up a lot on African
tubers.  There are a few of them.  I'll try and locate the paper and send it
to you (or at least extract the relevant bits).  There is a very good book
on African wild food plants but I can't remember the name.  However, I think
there is a reference to it in the paper.  I'll get back to you
----- Original Message -----
From: "Keith Thomas" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Monday, September 29, 2003 7:22 AM
Subject: Paleo tubers


> For those who are seeking to emulate a Paleolithic diet, the choice
> regarding tubers is somewhat ambiguous.  _If_ we use the rule that says we
> should exclude foods that became available to Homo sapiens in amounts
> sufficient to be significant in natural selection only in the Neolithic or
> a short time before (and this would, by definition exclude all foods
> native to the Americas, because there were no humans on these continents
> before this time), this excludes cassava, potato, sweet potato and some
> foods broadly described as 'yams'.
>
> But there are many tubers native to Africa and some of these were thought
> to have been a staple for Paranthropus bosei (though it is doubtful if
> there is a direct line from this species to our own).
>
> What are the scientific names of such tubers?
>
> Are any of these ancient African yams available in greengrocers in Western
> countries?
>
> Are there any suppliers of seed tubers?
> (I'd like to grow some in the garden.)
>
> Perhaps there is a website with information about these topics - any
> suggestions?
>
> It is possible that living off these tubers may have contributed to the
> survival of the Homo population bottleneck during the prolonged droughts
> about 100,000 years ago.
>
> Keith