RE: evolution and diet (was: FITNESS: Diet and Exercise)

From: gts (gts_2000@yahoo.com)
Date: Thu Apr 17 2003 - 12:42:53 MDT

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    Damien Sullivan wrote:

    >> If you are referring to the
    >> farming of animals then I also think it did not in itself lead to any
    >> significant increase in disease or mortality, at least not from
    >> infectious disease.
    >
    > Yes, farming animals.

    Yes, you may be right about this. I thought after sending that last post to
    you, "Hmm, maybe he had a point there."

    >> As for the increase in sedentary living in the Neolithic, yes I
    >> agree: I
    >
    > By sedentary I meant "poor sanitation", made even worse with the
    > animals.

    I think both these points you make above are valid, but keep in mind that as
    hunters, and as scavengers of the killed prey of other predators, we must
    have already been pretty well-exposed to animal diseases prior to the
    Neolithic. Also, perhaps more importantly, the advent of agriculture and
    animal husbandry roughly coincided with the advent of geographically fixed
    societies and specialization. I think it would be incorrect to say that
    everyone was so heavily exposed to animal excrement and animal germs. We
    needed a Carpenter to make homes and farm tools, and then later a Smith to
    make even more tools, and a Miller to make flour from the farm products, a
    Baker to make foods from the flour made by the Miller, etc. I'm sure anyone
    named Carpenter, Smith, Miller, or Baker will concur. :)

    -gts



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