Oh, yes, I forgot to mention a couple of other obvious points:-   tubers did 
become a significant part of the diet once the Neolithic came around, given 
the evidence, so it's quite possible  that Australian Aborigines acquired that 
trait at the time.  Besides, last I checked, the Aborigines only entered 
Australia towards the end of the Palaeolithic.

As far as tubers and health are concerned, I've previously pointed out how 
significant dependence on tubers has caused trouble for some underdeveloped 
nations(notably some in Africa)re malnutrition(eg:-"UNICEF's Girma attributed 
micronutrient deficiency to the low nutrient content in local diets, which are 
based mainly on cereals, roots and [tubers] and said diets needed to be 
supplemented with micronutrient-rich foods like fish, meat, eggs, milk and dairy 
products." taken from:-  http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=75920

 I would agree that modern, tuber-eating hunter-gatherers wouldn't be likely 
to have the some of diseases of civilisation such as obesity but that is 
primarily because they don't have the opportunity to overeat and do far more 
exercise than Westerners in cities. But that doesn't mean they are at optimum 
health, by any means. 

Geoff

On Tue, 13 May 2008 09:32:02 -0400, Keith Thomas <[log in to unmask]> 
wrote:

>I must disagree here, Geoffrey. Australian Aborigines were Palaeolithic
>through to their first contact with Europeans and a number of desert 
>tribes were Palaeolithic through to the early 20th century and I recall
>well the last small tribal group to make first contact in 1984. These 
>latter were Pintupi and wholly nomadic hunter-gatherers and so did 
>not use any agricultural practices. 
>
>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pintupi_Nine
>
>Note the medical examination of this group's physical condition.
>
>Nothing happened in Australia ~10,000 years ago that marked the 
>transition from Palaeolithic to Neolithic which occurred at that time 
>in Papua New Guinea, South/Central America or the fertile crescent.
>
>There is a nice picture of Bathurst Islanders on Wikipedia. A photo
>like this proves nothing, but it depicts people who look pretty
>much like hunter-gatherers:
>
>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigenous_Australians
>
>Keith