# The Stupidest Species



## SwitchBack (Jan 10, 2015)

This is something of a gag book a friend & I are thinking of publishing. Thoughts? Would the idea be too offensive???


*Chapter 1: Cave People
*​

When someone says cave people, cavemen, or cave dwellers, the most common thought that comes to mind is Neanderthals – the dumb aggressive barbarians that dressed in animal skins and whom are lucky to have survived as long as they did. Of course it’s a stereotype that Hollywood has erroneously portrayed for years; oftentimes based off of research that is both outdated and poorly done from the late 1800s to early 1900s. Most of which has long since been debunked by mainstream science. 

However, that’s the problem right there. 

If Neanderthals really were stupid they wouldn’t have lasted over 150,000 years. They wouldn't have discovered how to maintain fire, how to cook their food, and even a pseudo writing ability. Modern humans on the other hand have only existed for two fifths of that time frame; 70,000 to 50,000 years since _Homo sapiens_ first appeared. A stupid or incompetent species does not survive for very long, if it isn’t picked off by higher predators than it starves to death or dies from exposure to the elements. 

So where Neanderthals dumb, stupid animal-men? Maybe to the builders of the Pyramids or the Great Wall or Coliseum, and one can't forget the Sistine Chapel. But I hesitate to make the same claim about modern society as of the last hundred or so years. There's a lot of stupid people running around nowadays. There's even scientists saying that our geniuses of now would be considered extremely simple, even retarded, compared to people of Roman times. 

Look at it this way. 

Is, if prehistoric cave people [Neanderthals] were stupid they wouldn't have survived for an eighth of the time they did. And yes, regardless of what the latest TV show [Lost, Survivor Island, etc.] tries for, the real world is a lot harsher than “where’s my latte”. The animals our hunter / gatherer forefathers ate had survived worst predators (cave bears, saber-toothed cats, dire wolves, etc.) than a bunch of skin wearing want-a-bes running through the long grass on two legs screaming. It would have taken coordination and organization to ambush living, breathing food and even have a minimal chance of success.  

So our prehistoric brethren were at least capable of working together. How would they have done this? More than likely through a series of trials and errors, as well as comprehension – the last being one of the most defining features of intelligence. 

What do I mean? 


*There's a bit here that needs further research --- so I am not posting it.


*Further to this fire would have been a defining factor in intelligence. As anyone knows uncooked food is something of a double edged sword. Though one can glean more nutrients from uncooked or undercooked food, raw food essentially, the chances of becoming ill happen to increase with the more raw food you eat. This is especially the case when eating raw meat. However, meat is also essential for the development of bones, muscles and most importantly the brain itself as well as the neurological system. 

Though one would never know with the increasing number of people with their “Paleo Diet” and the current trend of eating raw meat. Or maybe that is a defining indicator. After all “Paleo Diet” is a fad and usually the people that don’t do thorough research – an indicator of intelligence – follow fads as if such information is golden. Even though most fads are deemed stupid, trivial and nonsense when viewed by the rest of society. 

However, going back to the cave people and the intelligence of fire one merely has to look at the pros and cons of raw meat versus cooked meat. 




*Raw Meat*
*Cooked Meat*
More nutrients / pound
Less nutrients / pound
Parasites still living in flesh
Parasites are often killed by cooking
Viruses / bacteria still alive in meat
Viruses / bacteria are often killed by cooking 
Harder to process = less value per pound 
Easier to process = more energy per pound 
Less “cancerous” is often a claim – maybe a hundred years ago but food is processed the same (and from the same sources) raw or not. 
Cooking can, done improperly and with the wrong oils, apparently cause cancer, etc. 

 
*Table 1: Raw vs Cooked Meat*
_As shown above, both have their benefits. Raw meat has more nutrients per pound, however, the process of converting raw meat to energy is harder due to the composition behind it. Not to mention it can be less healthy – not all meat has the same amount of nutrients. Organ meat is high in nutrients, muscle/connective tissue is merely good for vitamin C. _

_Why do you think steak tartare is served thinly or minced? _



So our real early forefathers, before the introduction of fire, were eating raw meat. *Those* are the stereotypical cave people; low browed small humanoids with ape-like arms and simple looking appearances as shown in any black and white 1950s movies. 

However, since the introduction of fire over a million years ago humans stopped being the hunched over two-legged apes and started becoming more like modern humans in appearance. In fact, after the introduction of fire pre-modern humans can be considered bigger than their forefathers and stronger with better endurance and other capabilities (brain power). 

The reason for this is very simplistic. 

Cooked meat is generally easier to digest. The cooking alters the chemical composition of the meat, making it more susceptible to the enzymes in the human stomach. It breaks down proteins, so more are absorbed in the small intestine where they can be used more thoroughly and not “wasted” in the gut, and makes food easier to chew. This means that it takes less energy to convert “raw” food into something useful for the human body. Less energy spent digesting means more energy goes to other things; the development of the brain, body and human muscle. 

Further to this, as mentioned in *Table 1: Raw vs Cooked Meat*, cooked meat is healthier. The parasites, viruses and bacteria that can be found in raw meat can be debilitating if not outright deadly. Worms and other parasites as well as salmonellas, escherichia coli, and listeria to name a few are often found in raw beef, pork, chicken and lamb – though the degree depends on what animal is consumed. Aside from making someone seriously ill some of these diseases if left alone or poorly treated can cause intestinal problems and even neurological issues. Raw fish, such as sushi, can carry worms as well as other dangerous parasites; not to mention that most raw fish nowadays in any great numbers carries considerable risk of mercury poisoning. 

So in the prehistoric era, a person who cooked food had a better chance of surviving. If a hunter was waylaid by an illness due to eating contaminated meat that would mean he (or she) would be huddled underneath the blankets and contributing little to their family unit. If they happened to be outcasts living alone this means the chance of a sick humanoid surviving were even decreased further. Add to the fact that untreated, and medicine would have been severely lacking back then, diseases due to uncooked meat just pile on adding to weakened immune systems and more sickness (early death) and those that ate uncooked meat in any great droves would be singled out as lesser beings in pre-history. 

This was proven just over a million years ago when humanoid evolution changed. The introduction of fire, and cooked foods, equals superior humanoids in the evolutionary scale. 

However, let’s say hypnotically two groups of cave people brought down animals from the same herd of deer. As humans wouldn’t possess the capabilities at the time [dogs to assist with hunting] they would have taken down weak animals if not outright scavenged caresses. Regardless of the method of getting said food either through elements or unclean tools the meat is contaminated with the E.coli bacteria. 

Nowadays it is roughly, as most shrug this off as a stomach flu and nothing more, anywhere from 70,000 to 250,000 or more people who are affected by E.coli bacteria in food eaten. In the vulnerable or in severe cases if left untreated E.coli infections can lead to everything from urinary complications to paralysis, strokes, seizures, kidney failure and even death. If you survive such a severe case your body is usually compromised; kidneys and immune system. 

As with most food based illnesses E.coli would target the young and the old more severely. With our tribe of prehistoric people that eat raw meat this would be even more damning; as the old would know the best places to gather food, make tools, and hunt while the young would be the upcoming generations. 

What about the tribe with infected meat that cooks their food? 

Well E.coli bacteria typically dies at an internal temperature (piece of meat) about 70 degrees Celsius or more. Modern beliefs put a simple basic campsite fire at reaching temperatures of 1,000 degrees Celsius depending upon the log type. The average seems to be 400 to 500 degrees, but typically hotter at around 800 degrees.  Even if the second cave dwelling tribe didn’t “cook the meat thoroughly” as we are advised to do in modern times even the smallest of time frames roasting on a spit would kill off much of the E.coli bacteria. 

So much for raw meat amongst cave dwellers. They appear to be rather smart with their dietary needs. 

Can’t quite say the same about those and the raw meat aspect of their faddish “Paleo diet” in modern times. Even if I would pay to see a bunch of skin wearing Paleo dieters running through New York City with pointy sticks chasing deer from Central Park. Then they’re “Paleo” people as it is; nowadays they make do with what they got which is a mockery. Not only are we not 100% sure what our forefathers ate but nowadays chemicals, steroids, pesticides, etc., makes modern food a poor substitute. 

I mean it is simply genetics. Why do you think you get entire families with poor blood pressure, diabetes, etc.; even if members of the family eat differently? Eating one way or another may limit your chances of getting a disease or illness but it doesn’t necessitate that you would avoid the illness entirely as many believe with fad diets. 

For example my 65+ year old father *has better *blood pressure and cholesterol than a man half his age, as per numerous doctors, and he doesn’t eat what would be considered healthy. My mother who is something of a health freak and avoids most sugars [and is not anywhere near overweight] is Type 2 diabetes, as was her father and his mother. 

But let’s regress and go back to the “dumb” cave people of per history. 

So we figured that cave people had fire and that they used that fire to cook their meat. As mentioned once fire was introduced human evolution gave rise to stronger and smarter individuals. 

Furthermore, it’s been well recorded that humanoids were using fire long before _Homo sapiens _(us modern people) even came into the picture. Depending on what you read humanoids were controlling fire anywhere from 400,000 to a 1,000,000 years ago; the latter identified with _Homo_ skeletons_, _left over ash [from burnt wood] and even charred animal bones. Some even go as far as saying nearly 2,000,000 years ago when _Homo erectus _really diverged from the other subspecies of the _Homo_ family clad. _Homo sapiens _didn’t really begin appearing until 200,000 years ago. 

How was this possible? For the people that depend on lighters, liquid fuel, etc. to start their camp fires you wouldn’t have survived very long in pre-history. Particularly when at most your “fuel” would have been unprocessed animal fat as how aboriginals in North America used to maintain their rather hot campsites. Instead our “dumb” forefathers relied on organization and by organization this means intelligence. 

What intelligence? 

Well first off our forefathers had to have noticed that when the fire isn’t tended, it goes out. So that means that more than likely someone in a cave-dwelling family unit was slotted into the role of “fire tender”. It may have been more than one individual. They would have drawn a conclusion between lack of wood and lack of fire; hence they would have started gathering wood when they noticed the supplies were limited.


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## juggled (Jan 28, 2015)

Interesting take on history. I am looking into sustainable farming because of some of the same reasons you have described here. I would read it if it was published.


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## janedoe555 (Feb 8, 2015)

This not too offensive. 

One thing to consider: The folding of the word "those" visually sort of throws off the paragraph. Italicizing the word those might make it flow better, and still provide the emphasis you're looking for.


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## MillennialWriter (Feb 21, 2015)

Well written 


Stupidity is relative.  Different civilizations cannot be compared in terms of sheer intelligence when they have different ways of living and surviving.


At least the our "dumb" forefathers practice what is rarely do today, and that is helping each other out sincerely and personally.  Each member of a certain tribe has a role to fulfill that is vital, including, and especially the fire tender.  Today we become self reliant and prefer anything instant, from microwave oven to oven toasters to instant noodles that need only hot water. 


I just bookmarked this site, for a reference.


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