On Mon, 1 Nov 1999, b2black wrote:

> Todd Moody wrote:
> ..................
> > To state the paradox differently: The less grain paleolithic
> > hunter-gatherers ate, the more inexplicable is the rather abrupt
> > switch to grain domestication and cultivation; the more grain
> > paleolithic hunter-gatherers ate, the less reason there is to
> > insist that the paleolithic diet was grain-free.
> >
> To look at this from another angle: if grain was used extensively in
> religious practices, if edible plants (wheat, barley, etc.) were viewed
> as visible gifts from the Earth Mother, if it were considered a blessing
> and a holy act to partake of these gifts, if fermented grains (beer) was
> part of these practices it makes sense to me that eventually some
> cultivation would develop.

It's an interesting theory, but it turns the Neanderthin
perspective rather upside-down.  If hunter-gatherers didn't eat
grains, and didn't regard them as edible food at all, then it
hardly makes sense that they would be considered a blessing.
And while I can accept a very early date for the discovery of
fermentation of fruit juices, I have a little more trouble with
pre-agricultural beer.  As a former home brewer I know something
about that process.  If you just throw some grains into water and
wait, you won't get much of anything.  The grains must be just
slightly sprouted (malted) and heated or the process fails
because the sugars in the grain are not made available to the
yeast.  This is different from making wine or cider, where the
fruit sugars are readily available and the main consideration is
*stopping* the fermentation before it proceeds to vinegar.

> Grain collected in the wild could be stored for future use, when game
> was scarce or it was necessary to take a road trip the grain was
> lightweight, easier to carry than a carcass and would keep you from
> starving if for any reason you could not hunt. Hence, gifts from the
> Earth Mother sent to nurture in times of hardship.

But while the raw "green" grain is edible, the dried mature grain
that can be stored is not, unless you mill it and bake it, etc.
The problem is that there is no reason to think that
hunter-gatherers would know about these processing technologies
prior to agriculture.

Todd Moody
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