From what I've read and seen in documentaries, hunter gatherers eat the following- charred meat and fish, root vegetables, fruit, berries, honey, nuts, and seeds. Plants are used as medicine, not everyday food.
They do not eat meals, but rather, smaller servings of food throughout the day. They eat what they hunt. Usually it is very small game (squirrels, birds) and fish. When they catch a larger animal, they split it among their fellow tribesmen (This is backed up by every video posted about the Hadza and San Bushmen on youtube.com) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9-Dt9ON9MQ&feature=related. If the hunt is unsuccessful, they eat roots and fruit, hence, the status of starchy roots/tubers as fallback foods http://rockcenter.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/02/24/10497577-richard-engel-journeys-to-tanzania-for-hidden-planet-series. It would also include the occasional honey binge, as everywhere this is viewed as liquid gold, and among the Hadza, the most preferred source of energy http://www.bioanth.cam.ac.uk/fwm23/tubers_and_fallback_foods_21040_ftp.pdf.
The Inuit are definitely outliers. I do not trust Nora Gedguadas' research, and I think Melissa did a fine job of addressing this http://paleohacks.com/questions/101254/paleo-summit-hack-a-thon-nora-gedgaudas-2-29#axzz22G4QOC2c. It could also be argued that Kitavans are outliers as well. I'm fine with that, and even so, the Kitavans are not hunter gatherers to begin with, because they engage in the cultivation of fruits and vegetables. They are however, detached from modern civilization.
Why don't people eat like this? I presume because it is more palatable to eat full meals, and because we're constantly told of the importance of green vegetables. Eating just meat (a small amount) several times a day is hard for people, and most people are scared to eat a meal of just carbs because OMG THE INSULIN. LOL. No honey because fructose is toxic. It would also mean that butter and cream would be excluded, but shouldn't matter because this is paleohacks, NOT primalhacks. I've been trying to eat like this for the past week now. It is a bit harder to get away from eating salads and sautéed veggies with meat, but all in all I feel like it is more in line with how actually HGs choose to eat, so I assume it is really how we've evolved to eat.
Does anyone eat like this? If not, why? Is it because the Paleo/Primal gurus make arguments that are more convincing than video footage and studies on actual HGs? I'm genuinely curious, not trying to be argumentative. Thanks for your input.
EDIT:
I realize now what I'll inevitably end up arguing about is the proper definition of "paleo," which ultimately ends up being a useless endeavor because I am certainly not the one informed enough or well-statured in this "field" to go redefining things. But, for those than answered, thanks. I do appreciate your response. Time consuming. Not willing to go to that spot on the reenactment spectrum. Makes sense.