[GCFL-discuss] Liveing in the past

[gcfl-discuss at gcfl.net]

On Tue, 29 Jun 2004 00:38:26 -0400 gcfl-discuss at gcfl.net writes:
>Yes and No I think. Hunter gathers  hunt  all day for food, that would 
>be considered their job, to find something to put into the pot to feed 
>the tribe, that and keeping the wild animals away.

THAT IS A COMMON ASSUMPTION, EVEN IN MANY TEXT BOOKS, BUT AT LEAST SOME
OF THE MORE RECENT RESEARCH FINDS THAT IN MODERN GATHERING AND HUNTING
CULTURES, AND IN ANCIENT ONES AS WELL, PEOPLE TOOK CARE OF THEIR FOOD
NEEDS IN 20-30 HOURS A WEEK OF WORK.

 I think that the few 
>lucky tribes that happened to be in a very fertile area such as the Nile

>Valley would be the ones with time on their hands. 

NO, THEY WERE THE ONES WHO HAD CENTRALIZED BUREAUCRACIES, AND WERE FORCED
TO SPEND ALL THEIR "FREE" TIME BUILDING PYRAMIDS, OR SERVING IN THE ARMY.

Protein (meat) wasn't easy to come by until farming started up. 

IT WASN'T EASY TO COME BY AFTER FARMING STARTED UP EITHER. MOST EUROPEAN
PEASANTS WERE LUCKY TO GET THE LEFTOVER CUTS OF MEAT ON HOLIDAYS. THE
REST OF THE TIME THEY ATE OATMEAL, KASHA AND CABBAGE.

And of course they were the meat if 
>they were not careful. How is it that the pyramids were built in Egypt
and 
>South America and not North America. I think that life was a little
harder 
>here because of the weather. People here and other places with our
weather 
>were always thinking about tomorrows dinner.

WELL, PEOPLE WHO LIVED WITH NATIVE TRIBES COMPLAINED THAT THEY ONLY DID
ENOUGH WORK TO SUPPLY THEMSELVES WITH FOOD, CLOTHING AND SHELTER, THEN
PLAYED OR SLEPT THE REST OF THE TIME.

Siarlys


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