The Gatherers

Across the continents, various prehistoric peoples generally fall into two different categories. There are the hunters and there are the gatherers. They usually traveled together, but each contributed differently to the journey. The hunters did all of the hunting and brought home the meat. The gatherers had a different task and gathered the greens. Both of these groups were found in Neanderthals and Homo Sapiens, but Neanderthals ate more meat than greens. The Homo Sapiens gathered more greens. Some studies suggest that eating more meat than greens might have affected the Neanderthals in the long run. They both survived for many generations. The homo sapiens were also divided into two groups, but studies show that the balance between greens and meat helped them survive.

We tend to think of hunters as going out and doing the hard work. It is true that it was dangerous and labor intensive, but the gatherers also played an important part in the survival of homo sapiens. This gathering job was just as important in keeping a balance to the diet and preserving the homo sapiens. Anyone who has ever looked over the good and bad plants to eat in a survival book also knows how dangerous it can be to learn which plants are good to eat. Think of the person who was supposed to determine which mushrooms were safe. It was either life and death or one wild ride. One might be gored by a bison and heal up, but some plants were downright deadly. Don’t forget tigers, lions, mastodons, and other large animals loved to graze or hide in the thick underbrush.

Seasons and weather patterns often influenced when certain plants were available. Some plants were only available in the spring, summer, or fall. Perhaps they gathered enough to store in caves for a winter meal, but there is more evidence showing that they moved with the herds. What about the years of drought? It may have been harder to add greens to the diet when water was scarce. A hard winter might wipe out certain plants that only grow in spring. An early winter would kill off the fall plants.

Eventually, they found what plants were good to eat. We can assume that this knowledge was passed down from generation to generation. There are no prehistoric manuals showing what was safe. All the cave murals are animals that were hunted. Somewhere, they found that certain plants had a medicinal purpose. Chewing some plants relieved pain, and others helped with digestion. We know that they also added some for flavor. Burnt pieces of thin bread were found to have mustard seeds and terebinth mixed in. They definitely ate tubers and certain mushrooms for flavor. Pine nuts and almonds were also around the campfire. It was more like a caveman snack food.

It definitely took the whole family group to bring down a large bison for food or to corner a herd of deer, but it also took the knowledge to gather the right plants. Both humans and Neanderthals faced the same challenges, but humans expanded on the greens and eventually moved into the Neolithic era. Cultivating these plants in gardens and fields brought about trade, settlements, and civilizations. Perhaps it was the idea of putting a fence around the garden to keep animals out that led to walls around the first encampments. We may never know how it all came together, but we still have this balance today between farming and ranching. It’s what makes us more human! With all this focus on the mammoth meatball, you might want to pair it with a wild grain thin bread for a balanced caveman diet!