On Sun, 6 Feb 2000, Ken Stuart wrote:

> No, again the wrong concept is being used.
>
> The crucial wrong words are "is for".
>
> Egg yolks are "for" baby chicks, but that doesn't stop us or many other
> creatures from eating them.

Exactly.

> The actual paleodiet concept is that the "technology of domestication"
> (Neanderthin, page 48) is required to consume the milk of another species (in
> any quantity worth analyzing).

And this is why this question leads to debate.  First, the claim
that the technology of domestication is needed to consume the
milk of another species is false.  If a lactating wild animal is
killed, the milk in the udder is available to the predators.  If
a nursing wild animal is killed, the milk in the stomach is
available to the predators (the "Bambi cheese" phenomenon).  No
domestication is needed to get it.

Where it gets vague is in the "any quantity worth analyzing"
clause.  If paleolithic HGs got milk or cheese in this way, did
they get enough to matter, from our perspective?  Obviously, we
don't know.  Of course, this same question applies to many
foods/ingredients that we regard as paleo, such as oregano and
other spices (How much time would HGs have spent gathering
coriander?), and berries only available for a few weeks each
year.

Todd Moody