Cave men ate little plant matter. Very little wild plant matter is edible. Plants contain poisons so bugs will not eat them. The first domesticated plants were 12k years ago. 12k years is plenty of time to evolve skin color appropriate for a latitude. 12k years is not enough time to change our low PH meat eating digestive system.
There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. -Ernest Hemingway The man who makes no mistakes does not usually make anything.-- Edward John Phelps
Cave men ate little plant matter. Very little wild plant matter is edible..
There are plenty of edible wild plants. Even the lowly dandelion is edible, every part of it.
How many people don't understand that, and that "ancient man" ate every edible thing they came across when it was in season..............especially if their favorite (likely high calorie) foods were not available at that time.
Assuming, and around here it's a big assumption, one believes our species is older than 6000 years old, anything they ran across was eaten to stave off starvation during lean times.
More recent studies, likely using technology not available in the 70's when I was studying such things as an undergraduate, are showing some interesting things.
We found carbonized food fragments in Franchthi Cave (Aegean, Greece) dating to about 13,000-11,500 years ago. At Franchthi Cave we found one fragment from a finely-ground food which might be bread, batter, or a type of porridge, in addition to pulse seed-rich, coarse-ground foods.
In Shanidar Cave (Zagros, Iraqi Kurdistan), associated with early modern humans around 40,000 years ago and Neanderthals around 70,000 years ago, we also found ancient food fragments. This included wild mustard and terebinth (wild pistachio) mixed into foods.
We discovered wild grass seeds mixed with pulses in the charred remains from the Neanderthal layers. Previous studies at Shanidar found traces of grass seeds in the tartar on Neanderthal teeth.
Speaking of using grains, shall we take the earliest use back a ways?
Seed for Food The seeds of grain-producing plants are more difficult to harvest than nuts or fruits as food. It has been unclear when early humans began to rely extensively on grains, but Mercader (p. 1680) has discovered films of starch residues on stone tools at a cave site in Mozambique dating to about 100,000 years ago. The residues are consistent with starch grains from wild sorghum and indicate that early humans relied on cereals much earlier than previously thought. The Mozambican example of sorghum exploitation thus represents the longest known tradition of cereal use in the world.
I'm sure there are other studies out there, these I found in just a quick search.
Of course, some of this is "science" and we all know how well respected that is around this place.
The desert is a true treasure for him who seeks refuge from men and the evil of men. In it is contentment In it is death and all you seek (Quoted from "The Bleeding of the Stone" Ibrahim Al-Koni)
The desert is a true treasure for him who seeks refuge from men and the evil of men. In it is contentment In it is death and all you seek (Quoted from "The Bleeding of the Stone" Ibrahim Al-Koni)
Local little green doggie dicks? (asparagus) I checked the other day, no sprouts coming up here yet. Still freezing good some nights, 19F the other morning. Only 28 or so this morning, and we're getting a storm. Maybe it'll warm up enough I can get some spears soon.
and........no sugar necessary for all that.
The desert is a true treasure for him who seeks refuge from men and the evil of men. In it is contentment In it is death and all you seek (Quoted from "The Bleeding of the Stone" Ibrahim Al-Koni)
Of course Stone Age humans ate lots of plant based foods. The Smithsonian link above notes that remnants of plants/tubers were found inside the mammoth bone structure.
Hunter-gathere tribes here in Idaho collected wild rice; others camas roots. Also salmon, in season, and all the deer and elk they could get (which wasn’t that much, because the hunting pressure didn’t leave much for populations: the Lewis and Clark expedition darn near starved to death crossing into Idaho due to the dearth of game).
The very reason humans were so successful in just about every climate and habitat in the world is our versatility to live off a huge variety of food. Animal, fish, shellfish, fowl. From mastodons twice the height of an African elephant to grubs from a log. From camas roots to coconuts. If we run out of dodo birds or whales, we switch to passenger pigeons or Atlantic cod, and don’t even give it a thought.
What other animal can switch from eating giant Irish Elk to coconuts to pine nuts to crabs to corn and survive perfectly fine?
Of course Stone Age humans ate lots of plant based foods. The Smithsonian link above notes that remnants of plants/tubers were found inside the mammoth bone structure.
Hunter-gathere tribes here in Idaho collected wild rice; others camas roots. Also salmon, in season, and all the deer and elk they could get (which wasn’t that much, because the hunting pressure didn’t leave much for populations: the Lewis and Clark expedition darn near starved to death crossing into Idaho due to the dearth of game).
The very reason humans were so successful in just about every climate and habitat in the world is our versatility to live off a huge variety of food. Animal, fish, shellfish, fowl. From mastodons twice the height of an African elephant to grubs from a log. From camas roots to coconuts. If we run out of dodo birds or whales, we switch to passenger pigeons or Atlantic cod, and don’t even give it a thought.
What other animal can switch from eating giant Irish Elk to coconuts to pine nuts to crabs to corn and survive perfectly fine?
Of course Stone Age humans ate lots of plant based foods. The Smithsonian link above notes that remnants of plants/tubers were found inside the mammoth bone structure.
Hunter-gathere tribes here in Idaho collected wild rice; others camas roots. Also salmon, in season, and all the deer and elk they could get (which wasn’t that much, because the hunting pressure didn’t leave much for populations: the Lewis and Clark expedition darn near starved to death crossing into Idaho due to the dearth of game).
The very reason humans were so successful in just about every climate and habitat in the world is our versatility to live off a huge variety of food. Animal, fish, shellfish, fowl. From mastodons twice the height of an African elephant to grubs from a log. From camas roots to coconuts. If we run out of dodo birds or whales, we switch to passenger pigeons or Atlantic cod, and don’t even give it a thought.
What other animal can switch from eating giant Irish Elk to coconuts to pine nuts to crabs to corn and survive perfectly fine?
bears, coyotes, wolves, raccoons.......
So the expedition putting in 25 to 35 miles a day humping 75 to 120 lbs per man eating pine nuts, grubs, passenger pigeons, and tubers because if they ate fish and game they would starve in all of the states the crossed? lol
Good luck. I've lost 55 lbs in about 18 months. Quit mostly all bread and pasta, consuming lots of meat. But what's really helped me is a large salad before every meal, which will satiate me and reduce the servings of the following entrée. Also, I ruck four miles with 35 lbs in a Goruck pack 4-6 times a week, first thing in the morning prior to eating.
More and more of the advocates of the paleo diet are realizing that without some complex carbs, that they were suffering from mineral and electrolyte loss. They were experiencing cramps, brain fog, and loss of energy. Comes to find out, you still need insulin to retain these. So the addition of carbs is necessary to maintain a healthy balance.
The problem is, US grain producers are focused on quantity and not the quality of our grains. So when I am in the US, I avoid ALL processed grains. About the only thing I eat grainwise here is Ezekiel bread which is comprised of sprouted grains - no processed flour.
More and more of the advocates of the paleo diet are realizing that without some complex carbs, that they were suffering from mineral and electrolyte loss. They were experiencing cramps, brain fog, and loss of energy. Comes to find out, you still need insulin to retain these. So the addition of carbs is necessary to maintain a healthy balance.
The problem is, US grain producers are focused on quantity and not the quality of our grains. So when I am in the US, I avoid ALL processed grains. About the only thing I eat grainwise here is Ezekiel bread which is comprised of sprouted grains - no processed flour.
At the end of the day, paleo is another fad diet.
Caveman/Atkins/Paleo aren't carbohydrate free. They are processed grain free and starchy vegetable free. A zucchini has carbohydrates, but is low in starch, for example.
More and more of the advocates of the paleo diet are realizing that without some complex carbs, that they were suffering from mineral and electrolyte loss. They were experiencing cramps, brain fog, and loss of energy. Comes to find out, you still need insulin to retain these. So the addition of carbs is necessary to maintain a healthy balance.
The problem is, US grain producers are focused on quantity and not the quality of our grains. So when I am in the US, I avoid ALL processed grains. About the only thing I eat grainwise here is Ezekiel bread which is comprised of sprouted grains - no processed flour.
![[Linked Image from i.postimg.cc]](https://i.postimg.cc/Ls9qb1Mc/ABD1-D156-D50-D-4-EDF-997-D-EF55609-B39-F7.jpg)
