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.... [log in to unmask] Walk The Path With Practical Feet! ________________________________________________________________ GET INTERNET ACCESS FROM JUNO! Juno offers FREE or PREMIUM Internet access for less! Join Juno today! For your FREE software, visit: http://dl.www.juno.com/get/tagj.