On Fri, 28 Aug 1998, Michael Audette wrote:

>   We don't know about the age of menopause in paleo women. If it's onset was
> later in life, that would throw a monkey wrench in it.

It depends, I guess.  Although menopause is the final end of
fertility, its practical end may occur rather sooner, as the
likelihood of spontaneous abortion increases with age.

> A natural species will rarely out strip it's
> natural resources, because it ether moves on to greener pasture, or will eat
> some thing else in accordance with it's species.

Or it will experience die-off to stay at the level that the
resouces can cupport.  Evolutionary theory says that a species
will *usually* outstrip its resources, and it is this that creates
competition and selection pressure.

> The
> longevity probably varied from group to group, and age to age. If humans
> stayed on a HG life style, I doubt we would have to even think about
> conservation of resources.

I'm thinking of resources in terms of social groups: extended
family, clan, tribe, etc.  There's a certain amount of food and a
certain number of mouths.  If longevity increases the number of
mouths without commensurately increasing the amount of food then
there is some pressure against longevity.  But if *healthy*
longevity is achieved by CR, then the elders' demand for food is
somewhat less, while their ability to provide food is extended.
But the need to think about conservation of resources doesn't
disappear.

I have read that in nomadic pastoral cultures in Asia, when a
person reaches an age where he or she can no longer keep up with
the migrations of the group and do meaningful work, the accepted
practice is for that person to *stay behind* and die of exposure.
But what matters here is not strictly the person's age but the
person's health and ability to contribute.  From an evolutionary
standpoint, *mere* longevity is a burden; longevity is only an
asset when coupled with vitality.  To the extent that paleo diet
and CR are conducive to this, there would be some selection
pressure in their favor.

Todd Moody
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