At 06:47 1998-04-03 EST, you wrote:
>In a message dated 98-04-02 13:16:10 EST, ABUSHDR write:
>If they were all so healthy why was the life span so short? It was rare for
>these persons to reach the 40th [forty] birthday?

This is what I often hear from critics of my diet, sometimes people
who should know better:
The methods for measuring death age of archeologic human bones are
very unshure, and it is not possible to tell if the person was more
than 40. Also that is 40 compared to modern aging speed so that could
in fact very well be more.
Hunter/gatherers have a risky life, but the those individuals who
are lucky to avoid infections, accidents, famine, birth complications
and so on, do get really old.
Staffan Lindeberg has made a health survey of people in the island
Kitava < http://www.panix.com/~paleodiet/lindeberg/ > and has an
article in a swedish book where he has photos of a 92 year woman and
a 100 year man who both look like 70. There is also a 65 year old who
looks like 50 in the face and less than 40 in the body.

- Hans