In the 6th chapter, we get back to Neanderthal anatomy. They have shorter forearms and legs than Homo sapiens sapiens. She says "Not fine control but leverage was the price they paid for strength." That sentence makes no sense. I think it should read "mobility was the price they paid for leverage that gave strength." I get the feeling again that the author was reading about something and incorporated it into the book without really understanding it. Others have said she does "info dumps" and some sections seem to read form an encyclopedia. As an author, you really, really have to understand your subject. You really have to do your homework.
Homo sapiens sapiens have comparatively weak shoulders. They are easily, and often, injured by something as simple as a fall or yanking too hard on a tuber. Ever had a rotator cuff injury? The sacrifice in strength brings a great advantage in mobility. We can throw a baseball, or a rock, at 100 mph. We can kill almost anything on the planet with a good and well aimed throw, whether a rock or a lance. The point she is getting at is the Neanderthal may have had less throwing ability due to a tighter, stronger shoulder joint. Also, short forearms don't give you a quicker throw or thrust, they give you a stronger thrust or jab. The muscle works on a shorter lever arm with a *stronger* force from better leverage, but lower speed. Looks like Neanderthals were built for a sturdy stance and a strong and powerful thrust.
I was moved by the description of the Clan sitting around using bones and hides as utensils and dishes. Why not use bones for every possible use? "Jaw and head bones were ladles, cups, and bowls." That gives us a real view of the 'cave man'. The animals become not only the meat, but the very elements and utensils of daily life. The Clan is intimately connected with their environment. In our lives, every plastic spoon, drinking straw, and piece of tech separates us.
Pate 83, she says they cooked the bison whole, and then feasted on it. That's my understanding, they lower the animal into the cooing pit. They also carried it back to the camp on two poles. That's hard to believe, 300 pounds per person. I would think they would cut it into quarters, like we do today, and let someone carry each fore-quarter, two men carry each hind-quarter, someone else the neck, another the ribs. After the feast, it wasn't all eaten. In fact, "there were left-overs to spare." Not being familiar with hunting or butchering, I think she grossly underestimates how much meat is on a bison bull, even a young one. We'll use a modern bison, maybe this one was a little smaller: Gross Weight: 1100 lbs % yield: 56% or 616 pounds About 20 people in the tribe, so even if a person gorged themself and ate an entire pound at a sitting, that is still about 31 meals for 20 people. You would never roast the whole animal and then leave it to rot, as they would have needed to. You would cut the meat into fine strips, and put it out to smoke and dry. Or, if in a Northern country, you could burry it to freeze in the Fall. It's the ice age after all! Then you go out all winter and cut frozen strips off it from the "freezer." Sadly, our Clan has more than leftovers, they have a 97% of the meat left. What are they going to do with it? Will another chapter show them smoking it?
I did really enjoy the drama of the hunt recreation around the fire. You can hear and feel how the pounding of the spears on the ground let everyone not only hear, but feel the pounding bison hooves! It's a dramatic scene, right down to the sensuality of the final "thrust" of the spear. End of the ceremony? Of course, when you mix black carbon ashes into fat and smear it into a wound, you not only have a scarification, you have a tattoo! (page 88). A great description, and a great scene in the dancing firelight if you could have been there!
Homo sapiens sapiens have comparatively weak shoulders. They are easily, and often, injured by something as simple as a fall or yanking too hard on a tuber. Ever had a rotator cuff injury? The sacrifice in strength brings a great advantage in mobility. We can throw a baseball, or a rock, at 100 mph. We can kill almost anything on the planet with a good and well aimed throw, whether a rock or a lance. The point she is getting at is the Neanderthal may have had less throwing ability due to a tighter, stronger shoulder joint. Also, short forearms don't give you a quicker throw or thrust, they give you a stronger thrust or jab. The muscle works on a shorter lever arm with a *stronger* force from better leverage, but lower speed. Looks like Neanderthals were built for a sturdy stance and a strong and powerful thrust.
I was moved by the description of the Clan sitting around using bones and hides as utensils and dishes. Why not use bones for every possible use? "Jaw and head bones were ladles, cups, and bowls." That gives us a real view of the 'cave man'. The animals become not only the meat, but the very elements and utensils of daily life. The Clan is intimately connected with their environment. In our lives, every plastic spoon, drinking straw, and piece of tech separates us.
Pate 83, she says they cooked the bison whole, and then feasted on it. That's my understanding, they lower the animal into the cooing pit. They also carried it back to the camp on two poles. That's hard to believe, 300 pounds per person. I would think they would cut it into quarters, like we do today, and let someone carry each fore-quarter, two men carry each hind-quarter, someone else the neck, another the ribs. After the feast, it wasn't all eaten. In fact, "there were left-overs to spare." Not being familiar with hunting or butchering, I think she grossly underestimates how much meat is on a bison bull, even a young one. We'll use a modern bison, maybe this one was a little smaller:
Gross Weight: 1100 lbs
% yield: 56% or 616 pounds
About 20 people in the tribe, so even if a person gorged themself and ate an entire pound at a sitting, that is still about 31 meals for 20 people. You would never roast the whole animal and then leave it to rot, as they would have needed to. You would cut the meat into fine strips, and put it out to smoke and dry. Or, if in a Northern country, you could burry it to freeze in the Fall. It's the ice age after all! Then you go out all winter and cut frozen strips off it from the "freezer." Sadly, our Clan has more than leftovers, they have a 97% of the meat left. What are they going to do with it? Will another chapter show them smoking it?
I did really enjoy the drama of the hunt recreation around the fire. You can hear and feel how the pounding of the spears on the ground let everyone not only hear, but feel the pounding bison hooves! It's a dramatic scene, right down to the sensuality of the final "thrust" of the spear. End of the ceremony? Of course, when you mix black carbon ashes into fat and smear it into a wound, you not only have a scarification, you have a tattoo! (page 88). A great description, and a great scene in the dancing firelight if you could have been there!