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In article <12ob73qgvv4e882@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>, ghmvdj@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
says...
> That was a good reply; I enjoyed it.
>
> Some more thoughts: The heavy eating of raw greens suggest metabolic
> development going way back into the primate ancestors of man, or through
> early forms of man, probably developing an ability to eat cooked foods,
and
> thus extending the diet.
> On the other hand, can beans be foraged? Is there such a thing as the
> wild bean? Probably, but if not, this suggests that man, or pre-humans,
> cultivated their gardens, thus making Candide's observation "We must
> cultivate the garden" oddly pertinent.
> Also, it is likely that prehuman simians, and maybe early humans,
were
> not carnivorous, but rather tryed to evade carnivores.
Actually, while prehuman apes probably did try to evade carnivores
(who doesn't) it is also likely that they ate meat, and probably
fairly frequently. Chimpanzees are known to eat the meat of small
mammals (including other primates) in addition to the various
insects they like:
Alp (1993) "Meat eating and ant dipping by wild chimpanzees in
Sierra Leone" Primates 34(4)
"Meat-eating is common among most wild chimpanzee populations that
have been studied. "
Anderson, Williamson & Carter (1983) "Chimpanzees of Sapo Forest,
Liberia: Density, Nests, Tools and Meat-eating" Primates 24(4)
Boesch & Boesch (1989) "Hunting behavior of wild chimpanzees in the
Tai national park" American Journal of Physical Anthropology 78(4)
(this one even notes cooperative hunting)
Stanford (1999) _The Hunting Apes: Meat Eating and the Origins of
Human Behavior_ Princeton University Press
> To kill or cook a
> carnivore would attract other carnivores.
This depends on what was hunted, and how it was hunted. Since
chimps exhibit habitual hunting and even cooperative hunting
strategies, it seems likely that our common ancestor also hunted
(and probably cooperatively). Chimps favour small mammals, and
deliberately choose adult prey. This would reduce the amount of
hunting necessary (by choosing the ones with the most meat) while
simultaneously reducing the need to hang around the carcass,
limiting exposure to scavengers and carnivores.
> Maybe man got to a point of
> strength and skill ( Neanderthal and Cro-Magnon?) where he could defend
> himself from carnivores, and then grew accustomed to meat. However, acc.
to
> Fuhrman, meat is bad for the body, so even if our Paleolithic ancesters
ate
> it, they suffered the consequences. So, it's just a tasty but
> self-destructive habit.
This seems unlikely. Chimps do it habitually, and seem to suffer no
"consequences".
> On the other hand, one could regard this dietary representation of
the
> human metabolism as an argument against dietary evolution. Perhaps man
did
> not evolve to be able to digest dairy products, and meat, into his
diet, in
> addition to plants, fruits, beans, nuts, and whole grain. Perhaps man
has
> just added dairy products, and meat, but has not adapted , and will not
> adapt to these foods; perhaps they damaged his health then as much as
now.
Culturally adopted foods are of course common for humans - all sorts
of bizarre things that most animals would consider poison make their
way into our mouths. Heck, things which actually *are* poison make
their way into our bodies quite deliberately - no doubt many other
animals wonder what we think we're doing. However, meat does not
seem to be one of them. Use of dairy (not counting natural
lactation and breast feeding of course) does seem to be
comparatively recent, and some populations have adapted better to it
than others.
There was a recent article published which discovered four different
mutations responsible for lactose tolerance in different parts of
the world where dairy foods are common. I can't seem to find it
right now.
Of course, whether lactose tolerance is a good thing or not is
debated.
> Sinners in the hands of an Angry God, and all that.
>
>
>
|
