In the last digest, Steve Meyers, asked if there was "a reasonably large
range" in the relative percentage of hunted animal foods in hunter
gatherer diets.   The answer to this one is a statistical answer (YES),
which may be somewhat misleading.   The range of dietary subsistence for
HUNTED animal foods is (6-15%) to (86-100%), but remember that the
statistical range tells us nothing about the distribution of values.
For instance there are only 5 hunter gatherer populations (The Selung,
the Yurok, the Karok, the Hupa, and the Wiyot) out of 181 listed in the
Ethnographic Atlas who obtain animal food from HUNTING at subsistence
levels of (6-15%) and remember, this number represents subsistence for
animal foods derived from HUNTING only; it doesnt include animal foods
derived from FISHING.  As I have mentioned many times in previous posts,
the mean subsistence percentage for animal based foods (both from
HUNTING and FISHING combined) for all 181 world wide hunter gatherer
societies is (56-65%); the mode (most frequently occurring value) is
(66-75%) and the median (middle value for all 181 societies) is
(56-65%).
        Steve also suggested that the sample may be skewed regarding the
increasing role of fishing with increasing latitude.   This is not
exactly the case here.   I dont want to let all of the cats out of the
proverbial bag, before I publish our findings in a scientific journal,
but indeed the sample is skewed, but not necessarily in the way in which
Steve suggested. Of the 181 samples, 93 societies are found in a
latitude that ranges from the equator to 43 N or S latitude and 88 are
found from a latitude of 45-78 N or S.   I am working (as we speak) on
frequency histograms by every 10 degrees N or S latitude to fully answer
this question.
        Also, Steve's suggestion that the distribution contains HG
groups largely from the tropics and very high latitudes is also
incorrect.  Of the 181 societies, 74 are to be found from 30 N to 45 S
(also 30 S to 45 S).   Virtually the entire USA can be found between
these two latitudes, so the distribution is not necessarily skewed in
this regard either.   The ethnographic atlas contains population
information about HG societies which was collected over a long
historical period  from early anthropological surveys as well as from
more contemporary studies.  Obviously, this record is but a small
fraction of all HG societies that have walked the earth, and certainly
must be flawed in many respects, but it clearly represents the largest,
most comprehensive listing which is currently available in the
literature (of course unless Andrew can produce another source).
        Hope this helps to qualify some previously unanswered questions.
I hope to get this manuscript out in with all of the details in the next
couple of months.

                                Cordially,

                                Loren