----- Original Message -----
From: Todd Moody <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Saturday, November 13, 1999 6:09 AM
Subject: Re: [P-F] fat


> On Sat, 13 Nov 1999, Erik Hill wrote:
>
> > Now I have a question about fat.  Neanderthin is very up on fat.  But
> > weren't most animals availiable to the hunter-gather during paleo-times
much
> > leaner than now?  Could there still be a problem with eating
substantially
> > more fat than our ancestors ate?
>
> In my opinion, yes.  In particular, it may be important to watch
> the *kinds* of fat consumed rather than just the amount.

It is difficult for us to determine specifically the body composition of
Pleistocene megafauna such as the giant ground sloth and the mastodon.
Humans hunted both species into extinction during the Late Pleistocene.
Considering their total body mass, it seems these large prey animals would
have been rich sources of fat. Todd is correct in saying that the lipid
profile of a diet composed mostly of the flesh of wild game would differ
greatly from a diet made up largely of grain-fed cattle. Upper Paleolithic
(Late Pleistocene) huntergatherers would have eaten more than just the
muscle flesh of their prey. But it seems safe to assume that they would have
been getting a lot of calories from fat. They would have had to to survive.
Their couldn't have been a lot of carbohydrate-rich foods in the
steppe-tundra of the Pleistocene Era--especially during the winter.

Ray can speak more authoritatively on this subject than can I.

Troy G.