On Thu, 25 Nov 1999, Ray Audette wrote:

> From:         Ruediger Hoeflechner <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject:      Eat right for your type
>
> The idea that O is the original blood group of hunter-gatherers and blood
> type A and B came up later in history is entirely antiquated. It can be
> traced back to Hirschfeld & Hirschfeld (1), Ruggles Gates (2), and Raymond
> Dart (3).

This is not entirely correct.  D'Adamo leans heavily on the A.E.
Mourant's _Blood Relations: Blood Groups and Anthropology_
(Oxford, 1983).  It's an interesting book, and not all that
antiquated.  Also Sanger and Race, _Blood Groups in Man_
(Blackwell, 1975).  There does appear to be support for the claim
that the A group appears later in the fossil record, and
*proliferates* even later.

> Irrespective of a convergent or transspecific evolution of the
> ABO-polymorphism in monkeys, apes and humans (10, 11): Phylogenetic
> analysis suggests that the human A and B allels are at least a few million
> years old (4, 12). Sorry, Mr. D'Adamo: blood group A and B are as
> paleolithic as blood group O. They are ancient, no adaptations to
> mesolithic or neolithic dietary changes, and can also be found in most
> recent hunter-gatherer societies.

This is actually a straw man argument.  D'Adamo's argument is not
that type A and B blood *appeared* as adaptations to dietary
changes, but that they *proliferated* in response to them.  The
point that A and B blood can be found in recent HG societies is
more damaging to D'Adamo's theory, however.

Todd Moody
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