I would like to welcome Professor Jorge Martinez to our group and
appreciate his comments upon the "over kill hypothesis" and megafaunal
extinctions at the end of the pleistocene.   I hope that my comments in
a previous edition did not imply that man was solely responsible for the
disappearance of most large mammals in all continents except Africa at
the close of the Pleistocene.   Clearly, climatic changes which altered
habitat have been implicated, however the criticism of this argument is
that profound changes in climate were a recurring feature throughout the
Pleistocene.   Previous transitions from cold to warm (interglacial)
periods, which are thought to have been very similar to the transition
from the Last Cold Stage to the Holocene (Postglacial), were not
accompanied by mass extinctions.   Because the fossil record (admittedly
incomplete) contains numerous examples of stone tools, imbedded in the
remains of extinct megafauna, cut marks on the bones of megafauna, and
the remains of megafauna in many human habitation sites, the evidence
clearly indicates these beasts were hunted extensively and were an
integral part of the human diet.
        Although the idea that humans were the sole cause of the "coup de
grace" of megafauna is clearly controversial, few are in disagreement
that expanding human populations at the end of the Pleistocene and its
consequent increase in hunting pressure, combined with dryer conditions
which concentrated the remaining beasts in smaller geographic locales
together spellt disaster for these large beasts.
        A final observation concerning the overkill hypotheses involves
"Optimal Foraging Theory" which states that organisms tend to optimize
energy expended in acquiring food vs. the energy available in the food.
  For hunter gatherers, collecting plant food is less energetically
rewarding than hunting or scavenging animal food.   It has been shown
that the picking, winnowing, grinding and cooking of grass seeds
(grains) yields about 100-1,300 kcal/hr whereas the returns on
encounters with game animals are in the range of 2,500->15,000 kcal/hr
(Hawkes K et al.  Optimal foraging models and the case for the !Kung. Am
Anthropologist 1985;87:401-05).    It is obvious that the killing of
large beasts would be more energetically efficient than the killing of
small beasts, hence our ancestors would have preferentially chosen
megafauna (once they were technologically advanced enough to kill these
beasts effectively) over smaller game (Webster D. et al.  Optimal
hunting and pleistocene extinction.  Human Ecology 1984;12:275-89).
        I am unable to easily find the citation showing cut mark on the hyoid
bone of mammoths in central europe.    I remember having a conversation
with Boyd Eaton about this, and he indicated that the location of the
bone cut marks suggested that the tongues of these behemoths may have
been a highly preferred part.   Next time, I speak with him, I'll see if
I can track down the citation.    I can provide a reference which shows
a 2.40 meter wooden spear made of yew which was found between the ribs
of a skeleton of the extinct Straight-Tusked Elephant (Hesperoloxodon
antiquus) and estimated to be ~125,000 years old in Germany (Movius HL.
A wooden spear of third interglacial age from lower saxony.  Southwest
Journal of Anthropology 1950;6:139-42.).   Clearly, if our ancestors
were hunting these elephants, they were butchering them and eating them
as well.

IN REGARDS TO HONEY:

        I would like to warmly welcome Dr. Brand-Miller aboard and look forward
to any comments she may have on the macronutrient content of ancestral
diets and how this may have influenced our present day insulin
metabolism.   Also, I am curious about the Crane, 1975 citation in which
she says "the Guayaki Indians of Paraguay have honey as the very basis
of their diet and culture (Crane 1975).".    The term Guayaki is the
earlier name used for the Ache Indians of Eastern Paraguay who have been
extensively studied by Hawkes and colleagues (Hill K, Hawkes K et al.
Seasonal variances in the diet of Ache Hunter Gatherers in Eastern
Paraguay. Human Ecology 1984;12:101-35).   Hawkes reports that "meat. .
. .provided the most number of calories daily (mean=56% ), and varied
little across seasons.   The vegetable component of the diet is
characterized by low variance in absolute numbers of calories, but high
variance iin species composition".    This data would appear to show
that meat formed the basis of their diet, not honey as Crane's reference
may have suggested.   Jenny, perhaps you could clarify your position?

A COMMENT ABOUT DENTAL CARIES

        I enjoyed Dr. Wynman's comments and his references (especially the
classic work of Weston Price).  Perhaps the most comprehensively
documented review of dental caries in hunter gatherers has been reported
by Turner (Turner CG.  Dental anthropological indications of agriculture
among the Jomon people of central Japan. Am J Phys Anthrop
1979;51:619-35).    She reports on the incidence of caries in 19 hunter
gatherers ranging from Neanderthals to present day Eskimos and of 47,672
teeth examined, the percent which contained caries was 1.3%.   This is
in contrast to the caries rates (65% or greater) which can occur in
countries wherein sucrose and starch form the bulk of the diet.

                                Cordially,

                                Loren Cordain, Ph.D.
                                Professor, Colorado State Univ.