And Atherosclerosis Ruminants, Food

Primitive man developed over a very long period (more than 2 million years) as a hunter and food gatherer. The social structures that we call civilized communities could never have arisen while man obtained his food in that way. This difficulty is well illustrated in the culture of the Australian aboriginals who colonized this country at least 25,000 years ago, at a time long before any known human beings had made the first recognizable moves toward agriculture, animal tisbandry or settled communities. The aboriginal's food technology probably advanced little, if at all, since arriving in Australia indeed, it is improbable that development could have occurred in the absence of indigenous animal species suitable for domestication as sources of food and power. It would have been difficult for man to develop crop production prior to animal husbandry however, once the .techniques of crop production had been discovered, communities could emerge in areas where plant foods .comprised their sole or main diet, perhaps supplemented with animal foods derived from hunting and fishing. It is not unreasonable to conclude that the difference between the aboriginal's food technology of 1788 and that of our present society had its origin in the domestication of animals, and especially of ruminants.