first off, let me say that i've committed the cardinal sin of not reading
"neanderthin". i don't have a copy handy, and it isn't in any of the
libraries in my area, that i'm aware of (i live in san jose, ca). also, i
hope i don't offend anyone with this message -- i really am trying to get at
some real answers.

but one thing has been confusing me. why do folks insist that people ate
primarily raw meat 10,000 years ago? we most certainly had fire (at least,
my ancestors seemed to). we weren't stupid, or uncreative. raw meat can be
hard to eat, and doesn't keep long. some kind of preparation, be it cooking,
smoking, or drying, was virtually a necessity. so why raw?

in a similar vein, why is it hard to believe that folks couldn't (or didn't)
dig up a tuber or two once in a while? we're sharp cookies, we can see pigs
and other "rooting" animals dig 'em up and enjoy 'em. it's hard to believe
we didn't take the clue (or otherwise figure it out) from waaaaaay
back...around the time we decided walking upright might be a pretty good
idea.

is it possible that the basis of the neanderthin diet has less to do with
"early man" and more to do with "primate physiology in general"? that would
seem to give it a firmer foundation, if the whole point is eating according
to our evolutionary roots. still, we *have* been evolving (somewhat slowly,
and not much lately) over time, and much of that evolution was in the
presence of fire, among other technological adaptations.

for an idea of my view of paleolithic humans, take a look at
http://www.anthro.uiuc.edu/Department/OLGA.html -- it's just a puff piece,
but the research is real, at least as it regards europeans.

one other thing: i'm still not sure i understand why the pesticides used on
some potatoes makes potatoes in general a bad idea. if i've got potatoes in
my back yard, with no pesticides on 'em, are they "off limits" anyway?

-----Original Message-----
From: Cary Eddy <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Thursday, December 10, 1998 11:58 PM


>But, the bottom line is, is that our paleo ancestors DID NOT eat potatoes
>or corn or beans or any startchy foods b/c they did not know how to harvest
>or prepare them.  Were not talking Indians of Mexicans, were talking
>ancestors
>10,000 years old, since that is how long our digestive genetic history
>dates back to.
>
>Eat raw meat!!!