Someone wrote:
> >The eskimos had no shortage of food to eat either.   I think you
> should read Jean Auel's books (all four of them) to learn about just
how
> prolific life is in the absence of modern man and the industrial way of
life.
> The plains, tundra, steppes, all supported an incredible array of
plants and
> animals living symbiotically.  It is a myth that man was constantly on
the
> verge of starvation and that there was a scarcity of animal food to
eat.

Ardeith writes:
Jean Auel did her homework for these books......I was a bit
troubled by her crediting one person for developments that
were probably spread over many generations, but mostly she
stuck to current anthropological theories........one thing I
think was a big mistake on her part was what she wrote
about the use of herbs.....she mentions the use of datura
quite often, and folks could get the idea that this is a
harmless herb like rosemary.......not so.....datura is an
hallucinogenic(spelling?)....and can be fatal......while you
might safely use all the animals she writes of for food....
you should not take the same liberty with the plants.....

Also.....in this debate about what the Inuit and other
people in cold climates ate......I read a book by a
man who spent several seasons in the Arctic studying
the wolves there.....(No, I don't remember the name
of the man or the book.....but I could probably find
it if someone really wants it).......this writer found that
the pack of wolves he was studying did not follow
the caribou south in the Spring......the wolves stayed
put.....maybe because they had new cubs......but the
did not suffer any loss of weight while the big game
was gone.......they caught mice.....the wolves would
pounce around on the grass until a mouse ran away
and then snatch up a 'snack'.........so the author caught
himself some mice to study......he found that the mice
were a pure protein snack for the wolves.....the wolves
digest the whole critter, hair, bones, and all....including
the grains in the mouse's tummy......I don't recall the
caloric figures in the book, but between the mice,
and rabbits and other small game, the wolves did
nicely all summer.............In our romance with 'big
game hunting' we sometimes forget that our ancestors
did not depend solely on 'big game'.....if nothing else,
the young hunters had to practice on something, and
they could keep the family supplied with birds, eggs,
snakes, turtles, mice, rabbits, squirrels, sheep, goats,
pigs, fish, insects........we didn't evolve in arctic climates
.....we evolved in warm lands.....we didn't need the
fat of the great beasts until we moved North.....and
even in the warm lands, eating big game was not
an every day thing.......there would be feasting when
the hunters returned with their giraffe or elephant
kill.....but the day to day living was made from the
small animals......and when the small animals were
depleted in an area, the people could just pack up
and move a couple of days' march away......
I personally don't care for grubs and locust.....and
jerky is my substitute for all the mice and other small
game our ancestors ate............but mice are Nature's
"fast food"......so many small predators depend on
mice and in some cases.....as with the wolves....large
predators can do nicely on mice too.....considering
how fast mice can multiply, we should be grateful....

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Walk The Path With Practical Feet!

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