[Previous entry: "'Do not call' list on hold"] [Main Index] [Next entry: "The return of the Sandman"]

09/24/2003 Archived Entry: "Stone Age man dumped fish for meat"

BECAUSE A PHILLY CHEESESTEAK SANDWICH TASTES BETTER THAN A FISHSTICK SANDWICH: Researchers believe that Stone Age cats in coastal Britain transitioned quickly from a seafood diet to a plant and animal diet very quickly.

Scientists had not known how fast domesticated plants and animals caught on with the ancient Britons, with some suggesting it took centuries. The new work indicates the switchover from seafood happened very fast, in less than 100 years and maybe within a generation or two, said lead study author Michael P. Richards.

"I must admit I was very surprised," said Richards, of the University of Bradford in England. The work echoes similar findings of smaller studies from Denmark, northern France and Portugal, suggesting the rapid switchover took place all over the European coastline at the time, Richards said.

The new study, which involved chemical analysis of ancient human bones, appears in Thursday's issue of the journal Nature. Richards said it's not clear why coastal people turned away so abruptly from successful fishing and gathering of shellfish, turning instead to crops like wheat and barley and domestic animals like cattle, pigs and sheep.

It's hard to play cricket and rugby on a fish diet for one thing...I wonder if ancient Britons boiled their fish like they boil steak today.

Read on.