>...  Also, this doesnt account for carrion.  Some 'experts'
>>believe that humans were largely scavangers.
>
>Dear Wade, this is fascinating, the scavenger bit. Do you have references
>for this?

I have a reference for this ,  that the taste of raw fresh kill is very
unappealling, but the flavor becomes very attractive as it is aged
That sounds a good indication of  the scavenging theory.
An other ones is that it is easy to get carcasses, easy to obtain meat from
it without tools, (the meat become not so tight and comes easy from the
bones and membranes

 Maybe humans were eating a lot more bacteria back then?  Maybe it
>is healthier than we think to eat aged meats that do have bacteria in them?
>Just wondering.

It is what i am trying to show, that we certainly need more bacterias in our
diet than the sterilised version of foods can bring.

>Speaking if aging, how long does dried beef jerky keep, and under what
>conditions?

I never had  trouble keeping for years dry meat if kept dry and is lean
 the fat getting rancid with time). But the taste is best when freshly done
.
The jerky made with seasonning might  be a different story?
jean-claude