On Sat, 2 Feb 2002 11:17:59 +0900, Tom Bridgeland <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:

>I read an interesting article recently about African elephants who go
>great distances to dig into salty hillsides.
>I suspect that any animal smart enough to chip stone tools is smart
>enough to carry a bag of salt away with him after visiting a salt
>lick.

You proofed for me the presence of land salt in Africa, reachable by
elephants at least. Where elephants go, hominids will also be able to go.
I know of other salt occurances in the form of big stones, which is traded
by beduins on the back of camels. But this is extreme desert.

I'm not a geologist but I can imagine, that in an area where it *rains*,
there will be no salt, with two exceptions:
1.Salt lakes (in a depression without an outward flow) or
2.other depressions without an outward flow.
Both are rather unfriendly life.

I think the elephant "licks" weren't licks with salt stones, but rather
some sandy area where the off-transporting water constantly could dry away
and left a little salt behind - where the elephants dig for it.
This is still source accessible for hominids,
but much harder accessible as sea water.

I think it would be hard to carry it away too
1.there won't be salt "stones" and
2.salt, carried in a bag will easily melt away under aridness.

>Our ancestors could easily have eaten a lot more salt than other
>animals for millions of years. Another of those unprovable speculations...

Of course they could, even without stone salt, because there is the ocean.
Weather they did.. I don't know.

Btw:
I think there may be a connection between salt eating and protein
consumption. Via the PRAL (food acid load).
I've read that it takes 21 Ca-ions (Calcium) which must obligatory be
excreted for one Na-ion (salt).

Mobilizing Ca from the bones does decrease the body acidity.
Do the excreted Ca-Ions decrease acidity too?
Then it would be an explainable habit to eat a lot of salt, just for the
forced effect of lowering acidity. And not to gain Na (or Mg).

If this is right, then eating anything which strongly lowers the acidity
should decrease the lust for salt.
I could try it myself, eat a little "natron" (strong basic powder) and
look if the appetite for salt decreases.

regards

Amadeus S.