http://www.vegblog.org/archive/2003/01/15/meat-eating-and-male-as-a-provider-may-be-more-recent-developments/ Wed, 20 Aug 2008 20:04:17 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6 http://www.vegblog.org/archive/2003/01/15/meat-eating-and-male-as-a-provider-may-be-more-recent-developments/#comment-825 Jim Tue, 25 Oct 2005 13:59:11 +0000 http://new.vegblog.org/2003/01/15/meat-eating-and-male-as-a-provider-may-be-more-recent-developments/#comment-825 They say killing only one "big game" animal per month isn't enough to feed a family? How large are these families? Unless they have no way to preserve the meat (salting, refrigeration, etc), one animal per month should provide a significant amount of meat per person. Maybe you couldn't eat meat for every meal, but I think one kill per month per family is not bad at all. They say killing only one “big game” animal per month isn’t enough to feed a family? How large are these families? Unless they have no way to preserve the meat (salting, refrigeration, etc), one animal per month should provide a significant amount of meat per person. Maybe you couldn’t eat meat for every meal, but I think one kill per month per family is not bad at all.

]]> http://www.vegblog.org/archive/2003/01/15/meat-eating-and-male-as-a-provider-may-be-more-recent-developments/#comment-824 Jamie Sat, 01 Feb 2003 23:53:24 +0000 http://new.vegblog.org/2003/01/15/meat-eating-and-male-as-a-provider-may-be-more-recent-developments/#comment-824 The theories of Dr. O'Connell and various others in his "Hail to Grandma" camp have little basis in logic, or fact. Part of their theory is based on observations of the role of Grandmas in the modern day tribe of hunter/gatherers, the Hadza of east Africa. One problem with this is that the Hadza have never progressed, in fact, they're on the verge of extinction. Secondly, O'Connell et. al. conclude that the difficulty the Hazda are experiencing in hunting in the 20th century mirrors that of 500,000 years ago. This is unlikely as the population of Africa, and therefore, competition for food, has increased tremendously. Unfortunately, for the Hazda, their competition has the enormous advantage of modern hunting tools as well. O'Connell then goes on to somehow conclude that if Homo Sapien Grandmas played a similar role, then they surely would be the prime factor in the evolution of humankind. That doesn't really follow, does it? I doubt that early humans were so flush with food, that the men could waste time in inefficient hunting. O'Connell then concludes that human tools, mixed with animal bones at river sites, proves that men hunted very little. Does this follow? He claims that their were too many predators around these sites for safe hunting by humans. Weren't humans predators themselves. Studies have repeatedly proven that the massive growth of the human brain required the fats and proteins provided by the meat, marrow and brain tissue consumed by humans, not the starchs of tubers. This new "Hail Grandma" theory is what we call politicized junk science, used merely to float political ideologies out to people via headlines. Most archeologists highly doubt this groups ideologies. Think harder. The theories of Dr. O’Connell and various others in his “Hail to Grandma” camp have little basis in logic, or fact. Part of their theory is based on observations of the role of Grandmas in the modern day tribe of hunter/gatherers, the Hadza of east Africa. One problem with this is that the Hadza have never progressed, in fact, they’re on the verge of extinction. Secondly, O’Connell et. al. conclude that the difficulty the Hazda are experiencing in hunting in the 20th century mirrors that of 500,000 years ago. This is unlikely as the population of Africa, and therefore, competition for food, has increased tremendously. Unfortunately, for the Hazda, their competition has the enormous advantage of modern hunting tools as well.
O’Connell then goes on to somehow conclude that if Homo Sapien Grandmas played a similar role, then they surely would be the prime factor in the evolution of humankind. That doesn’t really follow, does it?
I doubt that early humans were so flush with food, that the men could waste time in inefficient hunting.
O’Connell then concludes that human tools, mixed with animal bones at river sites, proves that men hunted very little. Does this follow? He claims that their were too many predators around these sites for safe hunting by humans. Weren’t humans predators themselves.
Studies have repeatedly proven that the massive growth of the human brain required the fats and proteins provided by the meat, marrow and brain tissue consumed by humans, not the starchs of tubers.
This new “Hail Grandma” theory is what we call politicized junk science, used merely to float political ideologies out to people via headlines. Most archeologists highly doubt this groups ideologies. Think harder.

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