Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

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Has anyone read Caesar's Commentary on the Gallic Wars? His discussions of the (paleo) Germanic tribes is very interesting. Meat? Check. Raw dairy? Check. Cold baths? Check. Plenty of time outdoors? Check. Great physical size, strength, and vigor? Check!

The nation of the Suevi is by far the largest and the most warlike nation of all the Germans.... They do not live much on corn, but subsist for the most part on milk and flesh, and are much [engaged] in hunting; which circumstance must, by the nature of their food, and by their daily exercise and the freedom of their life (for having from boyhood been accustomed to no employment, or discipline, they do nothing at all contrary to their inclination), both promote their strength and render them men of vast stature of body. And to such a habit have they brought themselves, that even in the coldest parts they wear no clothing whatever except skins, by reason of the scantiness of which, a great portion of their body is bare, and besides they bathe in open rivers.

Their whole life is occupied in hunting and in the pursuits of the military art; from childhood they devote themselves to fatigue and hardships. Those who have remained chaste for the longest time, receive the greatest commendation among their people; they think that by this the growth is promoted, by this the physical powers are increased and the sinews are strengthened.... They do not pay much attention to agriculture, and a large portion of their food consists in milk, cheese, and flesh.

There are many modern studies of the remaining hunter-gatherer tribes, but who knows about other ancient texts that describe pre-agricultural peoples?

edited Apr 20 2012 at 20:11

Lady_Arwen
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asked Jul 8 2010 at 14:31

Glenn
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	Fascinating. It wouldn't surprise me if you'd find something in Herodotus. This is one for the classical scholars – zohar Jul 8 2010 at 15:13
	Good find, that's really freakin cool – ChadHydro Jul 8 2010 at 15:57
	Glenss, that is really nice. Could you add it to the thread here: paleohacks.com/questions/2440/…? thanks – Pieter D Jul 8 2010 at 16:40
	This is my all-time favorite PaleoHacks question. – Patrik♦ Jul 8 2010 at 20:09
	Yes, an interesting post of a different kind. – Ken Jul 10 2010 at 2:45

show 3 more comments

ChenZhen · Answer 1 · 2010-07-08 18:50:18Z UTC

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Another interesting Quote:

Compared to the Jurched [Chinese] soldiers, the Mongols were much healthier and stronger. The Mongols consumed a steady diet of meat, milk, yogurt, and other dairy products, and they fought men who lived on ... gruel made from various grains. The grain diet of the peasant warriors stunted their bones, rotted their teeth, and left them weak and prone to disease. In contrast, the poorest Mongol soldier ate mostly protein, thereby giving him strong teeth and bones.

In Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World (2004) by Jack Weatherford, (p. 87)

xD

answered Jul 8 2010 at 18:50

ChenZhen
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Have you seen the Bizarre Foods episode when they went to Mongolia? They still eat this way. They eat a TON of fat, then meat and fermented dairy with barley any vegetables and no grain that I could see of. I remember watching the show and thinking "wow, this is the most Paleo country in the world." Some of the food is hardcore though, like the cheese that is made fermenting in the corpse of a dead animal. – Ryan Jul 8 2010 at 18:56

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Isn't barley classed as a grain? – andrew Jul 9 2010 at 7:13

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I meant barely. Sorry was typing on my iphone, the words jumps around as you type on this forum so it lends to mistypes. – Ryan Jul 10 2010 at 6:53

I do love me some Mongolian barbecue! I've gotten odd looks for the quantity of meat and eggs in my bowl. :-) – Caleb the Hobbit Jan 25 2012 at 16:23

Eva · Answer 2 · 2010-07-20 17:48:25Z UTC

I would guess that any migratory people would be eating a healthier diet simply because they would not have time to farm the land. Domestical animals can be herded along so meat and milk would at least be mobile. They would not have to worry as much about depleting local game and grazing area as long as they kept moving. However, if those same people were to then settle down in one place and their population was large, they would simply by necesity probably need to change their eating patterns to a more agricultural one. I would not be surprised if we were to find a healthy paleo oriented diet amongst most if not all migratory populations. -Eva

Stephen-Aegis · Answer 3 · 2010-09-28 17:27:53Z UTC

Largely vegetarian Bantu tribes such as the Kikuyu and Wakamba were agriculturists. Their diet consisted of sweet potatoes, corn, beans, bananas, millet and Kafir corn or sorghum. They were less robust than their meat-eating neighbors, and tended to be dominated by them.

-Dr Weston Price

Domer88 · Answer 4 · 2010-07-08 17:54:50Z UTC

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The Germanic tribes may have engaged in hunting, but they were definitely not pre-agricultural. They farmed and had domesticated animals. They and their ancestors had been farming in Europe for thousands of years by the time of Caesar.

Caesar encountered their warriors, who certainly would have engaged in hunting, as did warriors in Europe for the next thousand years.

answered Jul 8 2010 at 17:54

Domer88
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Perhaps I should not have used the word "pre-agricultural," but I think you are nit-picking. Caeser distinctly says, twice(!) that they did not depend much on agriculture and subsisted mainly on meat and dairy (in stark contrast to the Romans, who ate a lot of bread). Do have any citations that provide evidence to the contrary? – Glenn Jul 8 2010 at 18:13

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Oh, and he didn't just "encounter their warriors." The book is a detailed sociological treatise on the religion, politics, economies, domestic arrangements, etc. of the Celts, Gauls, Germans, and others. – Glenn Jul 8 2010 at 18:16

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the Germans practiced both agriculture and husbandry, the latter was extremely important both as a source of dairy products and as a basis for wealth and social status, which was measured by the size of an individual's herd. The diet consisted mainly of the products of farming and husbandry and was supplied by hunting to a very modest extent. Barley and wheat were the most common agricultural products and were used for baking a certain flat type of bread as well as brewing beer. The fields were tilled with a light-weight wooden plow, although heavier models also existed in some areas. – badger Jul 22 2010 at 21:47

mm, this makes me even more proud of my Celtic and Germanic roots. I think I was meant to be a caveman. – Caleb the Hobbit Jan 25 2012 at 16:25

Ryan · Answer 5 · 2010-07-08 18:22:36Z UTC

Yes I have read this before but your translation is curious as it mentions corn which is a New World food. But it is a great read.

Also as another poster pointed out the Germans did have animal husbandry. If you are interested in huge ancient people I think that the Tocharians are really interesting. They were a migrating band of Celtic people who settled the deserts of Western China 3,000 years ago, before even Chinese people had made it there. They buried their dead as mummies and some that have been dug up recently were as tall as 6'6. They were also buried with bags of what we now call "medicinal medicine."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tocharians.... http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28034925/

Stefan · Answer 6 · 2010-10-04 05:53:50Z UTC

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Looks familiar! I remember I had to translate this (or a similar text) from Latin to German when I was in "Gymnasium" (High School).

answered Oct 4 2010 at 5:53

Stefan
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gutenberg.org/ebooks/218 (If you can read Latin) gutenberg.org/ebooks/10657 (English) – Stefan Oct 5 2010 at 4:01

ben61820 · Answer 7 · 2010-07-08 14:52:24Z UTC

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this is rad. Where'd you find it? Online somewhere im guessing - i'd love to be able to read the copy in full. Cheers

answered Jul 8 2010 at 14:52

ben61820
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Ben, Here you go! classics.mit.edu/Caesar/gallic.html – Glenn Jul 8 2010 at 15:01

This is a comment, not an answer – zohar Jul 8 2010 at 15:20

zing! my bad zohar:) – ben61820 Jul 8 2010 at 23:00

nothing personal. I've given you many up votes! – zohar Jul 12 2010 at 11:59

nick · Answer 8 · 2012-04-20 20:17:33Z UTC

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Dan Carlin goes over this extensively in his podcast "Hardcore History"

The episode is "thor's angels"

http://www.dancarlin.com/disp.php/hharchive/Show-41---Thor*s-Angels/Dark%20ages-medieval-antiquity

answered Apr 20 2012 at 20:17

nick
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Dan Carlin rocks! – Meegeek Apr 20 2012 at 20:49

Have you read Caesar’s description of the ancient Germans?

8 Answers