I Might Be a Cave man.

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Little Tree

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I have recently began thinking about the style of the caveman, at least what I know of him. From what I know, he was a man who was relatively simple. He liked his meats. Not so much his veggies, and everything was meant to be simple. Now Granted, I watch tv, shower, and shave, but I am very picky about everything I eat. Do you think that it is possible that peoples pickiness about eating is some what residual from prehistoric cave men/women (for all you feminist rights women) Now I know many people will just justify picky eating as a brain function, but I ask that everyone encounter this question with an open mind.

p.s. I oppologize to any history buffs, (no pun intended) that I may have offended, this also applies to the highly religous. But this makes me think, the severly religous usually degrade buffy as saintinism. But better safe than sorry.
 
The apendix was nescisary for prehistoric man because he ate foods that were harder to digest, and he needed greater intestinal surface area. If you are leaning towards foods with less toughness and fiber (like fruits and veggies), then you are probably less like the caveman than you supposed. Also, the meat eating thing would be a lot closer if you were also eating the fat, esp. in the fall when you need that extra layer of insolation while you huddle in your drafty cave.
 
eset that was very insitefull of you. Are you a scientist, or.. and don't be offended, just kind of a nerd? Don't worry, I'm sort of a nerd, but not that brite of a nerd about cavemen.
 
Well since I took my BA in Anthropology I figure I should chime in here. Technically speaking we really haven't evolved much physically since the time of what you are calling "cavemen." The amount of time that we (Homo Sapiens Sapiens) have been around is miniscule by an evolutionary stand point. Modern evolutionary theory suggests that Homo Sapiens Sapiens evolved out of Archaic Homo Sapiens only about 100,000 years ago (+/- 20,000 years).

For the sake of ease I am going to leave out Homo Neandertalensis (Neanderthals) since evolutionary theory suggests that the did not inter-breed with Homo Sapiens. When one takes into account that Homo Heidelbergensis existed for about 400,000 years before fading out into Homo Sapiens the amount of time that we have existed is miniscule. Furthermore when one considers that we are very similar to our closest cousins, the chimpanzee, (98%, I believe) and that part of evolution began between 5 and 10 million years ago it is not surprising that we share alot in common with our (relatively) recent ancestors. Since the arrival of Homo Sapiens Sapiens almost all of our evolution has been cultural.

Anyways, enough with the lecture and back to the points that you raised at first. It is generally a common misconception that "cavemen" ate largely a meat based diet, there have actually been some studies (if you are interested I'll give you the names, but they are very technical) where they tested the bones of early Homo Sapiens and found that their diet was closer to 70% gathered food (vegetables, seeds and fruits) and only 30% meat. Note that the numbers vary between studies, but rarely does meat account for more than 50% of the diet. Truthfully most "pickiness" for eating is derived from culture, such that a variety of foods are readily available for consumption, therefore being "picky" is allowed and accepted. Early humans did not have the option to be picky, largely they ate whatever wasn't poisonous.

That was pretty long winded, sorry. If you want anymore information I can cite you some really good sources. Also please be kind if some of my dates are a little off, it has been a year or so since I've done this stuff and I wrote this from my head. Hope this helps though.
 
K
killerdwarf
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Mr. Pointy
Mr. Pointy
Impressive stuff :)
R
Rayne
WOW...Nice...;)
Beer_Nut said:
their diet was closer to 70% gathered food (vegetables, seeds and fruits) and only 30% meat. Note that the numbers vary between studies, but rarely does meat account for more than 50% of the diet.
Click to expand...

Makes sense, when you think about it. Hunting is a time-consuming, energy-consuming and somewhat dangerous occupation. If the ancestors in question were nomadic, they would be further ahead to move to where the plants were plentiful, and supplement with meat they could easily come by, as opposed to sending out a constant stream of hunters who could be injured or killed by the very animals they hunted.

Nicely explained, my friend!
 
Little Tree said:
eset that was very insitefull of you. Are you a scientist, or.. and don't be offended, just kind of a nerd? Don't worry, I'm sort of a nerd, but not that brite of a nerd about cavemen.
Click to expand...

No, I'm not a scientist, thats just what I remembered from 9th grade bio. And yes, I am a nerd. Also a collector of useless trivia and compulsive taper of TV shows.

And Faldor, I think your post was helpful, informative, and a lot better than mine, but if you feel the need to be offended by me, just let me know. My sister says I'm good at it.
 
You guys are crazy! I love that this thread got as many hits as it did. Bear nut, That was awesome, You were like will farrell in old school when he goes totally nerd, and rambles in an incoherant blackout. Faldor, Why do you want me to insult you? I don't want to make enemies, that is why I try not to offend anybody, and I also try to avoid sounding like some one off of a soap opera. Well this is all just fascinating, it has also made me think of something else, please check out my new thread... "Big Foot, Evolutionary?"
 
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