In article , "George" george@least wrote:

They were certainly protein-limited by their lack of domesticated animals.
Makes you think about the role of nutrition in civilization in a whole new
light, and the role of domestication in providing nutrition as well as a way
to haul it to storage.

I've read more than one case for the collapse of the Maya based on
nutrition. The cultivation they seem to have had down pretty well, with the
same sort of mound and ditch found elsewhere, but of course they didn't have
the variety of protein in their diet to remain free of disease without some
meat.


Sorry, but I don't buy that. Collectively, modern North Americans eat
*waaaaay* more meat than is needed to maintain good health. It's easy to
suppose that people who eat a lot less meat than we do are therefore not
eating enough.

It's also utterly mistaken.

Further, there are other sources for meat besides large domesticated animals.
The native peoples of North America seemed to do just fine by hunting bison,
whitetail deer, rabbit, and squirrel, among others; by setting snares for
birds; and by fishing. Granted, the native peoples of Central America didn't
have quite the same ready supply of *large* game animals, but there certainly
were other sources of animal protein available to them. Don't underestimate
fish, either.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek-at-milmac-dot-com)

Get a copy of my NEW AND IMPROVED TrollFilter for NewsProxy/Nfilter
by sending email to autoresponder at filterinfo-at-milmac-dot-com
You must use your REAL email address to get a response.