On Mon, 29 Jun 2009 10:42:30 +0100, Geoffrey Purcell 
<[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>Last I checked, seafood is generally viewed as very lean. The only exception 
are deepwater fish but those presumably wouldn't have been caught in palaeo 
times, given the lack of ships, until recent times.

You are implying that the "shoreline theory" is flawed because paleos could 
not tolerate such a lean diet.  In fact, paleos typically lived near the shoreline 
so that they had access to the widest possible range of foods.  Here is a 
description from Wikipedia of the Karankawa tribe in TX (note the low-carb 
diet):

"The indigenous peoples that lived along the Texas Coast from Galveston 
Island to a location southward far past Corpus Christi, Texas endured much 
hardship from the elements. The bays, back bays, lagoons and bayous along 
the Texas Coast, were the tribal hunting and harvesting grounds. The shallow 
waters in the bays allowed them to wade out into the deep pools with lances 
or bows and arrows, to spear fish as the older men, women and children 
harvested the waters for blue and stone crabs, oysters, mussels, sea turtles, 
shellfish, and other edible crustaceans. They also would eat deer and turtles.

They wintered around the coastal bays, eating oysters, clams, shellfish, black 
drum, redfish, spotted seatrout and the other abundant species of fish. During 
the summer months, and hot weather the oysters, clams and other shellfish 
are not safe to eat, and the fish make their yearly migration out the pass, 
which in turn would send the tribal bands migrating further inland as well. 
Summer tropical storms and hurricanes would have an impact on this decision 
to move further inland as well. There are accounts that Karankawas were 
seen as far inland as Colorado County at Eagle Lake, close to 100 miles (160 
km) from the coastline, but no evidence shows they made permanent camps 
there.

They would traverse the bays in dugouts and lived in round thatch huts. Some 
of the campsites show a population of several hundred. The discarded clam 
and oyster shells would make huge mounds around this camp site. Their most 
prized hunting tool was the long bow, some well over six foot long and arrow 
shafts as long as three feet, making it easier to spot and retrieve them from 
the shallow waters. Their major inland game was the deer and American Bison, 
as the many discarded remains of these animals has been found at these 
camp sites. They also harvested local roots, berries and nuts. One such plant, 
Ilex vomitoria or the Yaupon Holly, was made into a tea, and drank in large 
quantities, for it's psychoactive effects due to caffeine found in the leaves 
(Newcomb 79)."


>Re claims:- The claim that in palaeo times, there were large mammals with 
higher fat-content which then died out isn't relevant, really. For one thing, 
wild horses and wild aurochs(the ancestors of modern cattle) were staples of 
the Palaeolithic diet, at least in Europe, and they are still around today with 
the same levels of fat(if grassfed).

Paleos preferred fat.  They would eat the organs, brains, marrow, and render 
the fat around the organs.  Read Lewis and Clark or Man's Rise to Civilation by 
Peter Farb.