On Sun, 10 Dec 2006 23:10:19 -0500, Tom Bri <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > Ice age Europe, is the one that springs to mind. When was that? Evidence of Vitamin D > deficiency in leg bones, probably from long winters spent in caves and > wrapped up head to toe. Aboriginal Americans didn't need caves, and AFAIK didn't suffer from such deformities. I don't know any environment that is not subject > to > at least occasional food shortages. I imagine ice age Europe had long > periods when people were stuck in camp and could not get out to hunt due > to > the weather. If the snowplows ever quit, I'll let you know how I do. Preserving food in a cold environment isn't difficult. It would take a cataclysmic climate change for people to suffer from long-term malnutrition, or other reason for the hunters to fail. William