>alcohol

There are elephants somewhere who are very fond of eating large quantities
of the overripe fruit of certain trees. The fruit ferments quickly in their
great stomachs, and it's party time in the jungle. However, even if some
ancient hunter-gatherers liked to get tipsy by letting berries ferment in an
animal bladder, they couldn't have done it very often or for more than a
brief part of the year when berries were available. Perhaps year-round
alcoholism is another fruit of the agricultural revolution.

 >green beans

My copy of _NeanderThin_ came yesterday. I was pleased right off to see the
strip of stamps on the mailer depicting the Mastodon, Saber tooth cat,
Eohippus, and Wolly Mammoth. Nice touch. :)

One question: on page 47, green beans are mentioned as being safe to eat raw
for a few days during their immature state. On page 57, we are told never to
eat green beans. This seems to be a contradiction. On general NeanderThin
principles, raw green beans would seem to qualify. I'm sure our friend with
the sharp stick was smart enough to tell the edible from the inedible stages
of growth. Because of their short season, green beans could not have been a
staple of the diet, but they could have made a pleasant addition to the
salad bowl for a few days or weeks of the year.

I understand why potatoes are not allowed: even though modern varieties can
be eaten raw, ancient varieties were deadly. Is the same true of modern vs.
ancient green beans? Does the statement on page 47 apply only to modern
green beans?

In case you haven't guessed, I like raw green beans. However, it's obvious
they've been highly modified. When I was a kid, 40 years ago, green beans
were called string beans because they all had tough strings of fiber running
down their length. You don't see that any more. So, even in that short time,
they're not what they used to be.