Dean,

What is this archaeobotanist's name that you can't reach?  I am also an
archaeobotanist and belong to the archaeobotany list.  Perhaps I could reach
this person for you.  I've been "lurking" on your list for awhile trying to
form an opinion of the topic and conversations.

Now, to address one paragraphy from the most recent post:

>And this is entirely leaving aside discussions of the actual archaeological
>evidence and what can be said definitively there (and what cannot), which
>we hope the archaeologists among us can help us understand better.  For
>example, it seems fairly clear from the literature that humans have always
>eaten animal proteins of some form, but can more than this be said with
>conviction from the archaeological record?
>
The archaeological and especially the archaeobotanic literature has many
examples of pre-agricultural diet.  Most of this literature is "gray" or
unpublished, which means that if you don't know an archaeobotanist, it's hard
to find.

The best data on diet comes from the study of human coprolites (feces).
 There are coprolites representing the diet of pre-agricultural people in
Texas in the literature -- primarily as MA theses and Ph.D. dissertations.
 To find these, one should search through University Microfilms, since they
sell copies of theses and dissertations.  I don't have a good memory for
exact titles of publications, so I'll need to look at some of this
information on my bookshelf to post for this group.

At the present, I'm examining the remains from two probable human coprolites
about 6000 years old from Wyoming -- definitely pre-agricultural.  The
contents are very interesting and would lead most people to the conclusion
that these coprolites are not from humans.

I'm surprised to read so many opinions about the "paleolithic diet" as if it
 was similar around the world.  Not so.  In some areas pre-agricultural diets
include many insects.  Often they have been cooked.  In some areas rodents
are a common component of the diet, usually consumed complete with bones,
hair, stomach contents, and meat.  We have good evidence of the consumption
of rodent hair and bones and assume the stomach contents and meat part.  In
fact, in some areas rodent consumption persisted into the agricultural
period.  In the northwest coast area of North America pre-agricultural diet
included large amounts of fish, berries, and roots.  Camas bulbs were a
staple in portions of the American northwest.  This can be documented through
the archaeologic record.

If there is interest out there for an archaeobotanic accound of the
pre-agricultural diet, I'll put together an abstract and begin on a book for
publication.

Linda Scott Cummings
Paleo Research
Golden, CO