Guest guest Posted June 21, 2005 Report Share Posted June 21, 2005 Having a long-standing interest in ethnobotany and the origins of agriculture, I am suprised at the thought that starch eating is new.. In fact, grinding stones are over 100,000 years old and predate most other " modern " technologies around the world. Also, I was just reading " Rocky Mountain Wildflowers " to find native edible flowers for my cheese making cows.Contrary to my education,there are half a dozen root crops listed that were documented (by and among other contemporary accounts) as a chief source of calories for Rocky Mounatin and high plains " natives " . They were harvested in great quantities, fermented and dried into loaves weighing 5 lbs or more and consumed year round. So much for berries, greens and meats. Comments? Meg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 21, 2005 Report Share Posted June 21, 2005 Hi Meg: This is not a comment, but rather an addition. The Britannica says " wheat is believed to have been milled 75,000 years ago. " It doesn't say where nor if it was cultivated or wild (probably at the time it was wild). So there you are. So maybe there is something rotten in the kingdom of Denmark. Cheers, José --- In , " megcattell " <mcattell@a...> wrote: > Having a long-standing interest in ethnobotany and the origins of > agriculture, I am suprised at the thought that starch eating is new.. > In fact, grinding stones are over 100,000 years old and predate most > other " modern " technologies around the world. > > Also, I was just reading " Rocky Mountain Wildflowers " to find native > edible flowers for my cheese making cows.Contrary to my education,there > are half a dozen root crops listed that were documented (by and > among other contemporary accounts) as a chief source of calories > for Rocky Mounatin and high plains " natives " . They were harvested in > great quantities, fermented and dried into loaves weighing 5 lbs or > more and consumed year round. So much for berries, greens and meats. > > Comments? > > Meg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 21, 2005 Report Share Posted June 21, 2005 >Also, I was just reading " Rocky Mountain Wildflowers " to find native >edible flowers for my cheese making cows.Contrary to my education,there >are half a dozen root crops listed that were documented (by and > among other contemporary accounts) as a chief source of calories >for Rocky Mounatin and high plains " natives " . They were harvested in >great quantities, fermented and dried into loaves weighing 5 lbs or >more and consumed year round. So much for berries, greens and meats. > >Comments? > >Meg Oh, I agree and I've said about the same for a long time. Ditto for the idea that fruits in the past were " low sugar " . You don't need technology to get starches and sugars year round. The natives in Brazil harvested manioc, the natives in Hawaii harvested taro, and the aborigines in Australia had yams. Some of the low-carb books have popularized the notion that early humans didn't eat starches/sugars much but I don't know where they got that. Actually if you go WAY back, our primate ancestors ate MOSTLY carbs with little protein. The Paleo folks ate a lot of meat, but they had vegies too. To get grain in large quantity goes hand in hand with " civilization " though, so the grain crops ARE newer and it's the invention of the grain combine that started making them really cheap. Rice might be an exception in this regard: I think the Asians have had large rice paddies for a long long time. Heidi Jean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 21, 2005 Report Share Posted June 21, 2005 > Having a long-standing interest in ethnobotany and the origins of > agriculture, I am suprised at the thought that starch eating is new.. > In fact, grinding stones are over 100,000 years old and predate most > other " modern " technologies around the world. > > Also, I was just reading " Rocky Mountain Wildflowers " to find native > edible flowers for my cheese making cows.Contrary to my education,there > are half a dozen root crops listed that were documented (by and > among other contemporary accounts) as a chief source of calories > for Rocky Mounatin and high plains " natives " . They were harvested in > great quantities, fermented and dried into loaves weighing 5 lbs or > more and consumed year round. So much for berries, greens and meats. > > Comments? > > Meg Meg, This is the first fermentation I've heard of on this continent pre contact in a hunter-gatherer, non -agriculturist tribe. What I'm familiar with is the Northeast, that was fully forested. Greens would have been more seasonal and rarer than berries that could be dried. Acorn, cattail flours, groundnuts, a small edible tuber, inner tree barks, cattail and pond lily roots are the starches I know of. Have said here root starch eating is pre agriculture. Wanita Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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