Dana Carpender wrote:


> Actually, skeletal evidence shows that when hunter-gatherers became
> farmers, they got shorter, with weak bones and bad teeth, probably due
> to the fact that grain phytates bind up minerals. Doesn't sound like
> thriving, really.


People today are much taller on average than people were just a couple
hundred years ago. If people are shorter because of grains, then why we
are taller now, as we eat more grains than ever before?

I suspect the people getting shorter in the past was for a different
reason.



Also, I would point out that we evolution isn't as slow as you think.
Just considering the short time that we have been homo sapien, we have
adapted to various conditions. Take a look around you. While the world
has become a smaller place and people are now migrated and spread out
everywhere, you can still tell where a person's ancestors came from
because of some characteristics.

People from colder climates tend to have smaller noses with with small
nostrils to keep out the cold. Skin color - we got all these diffferent
skin tones from various levels of exposure to the sun. Some people
needed more natural protection than others.

We may all be mixed up now. But back when people were sequestered in
various groupings, the people adapted as a group to their particular
evironment. It didn't take 50,000 years to produce people of various
skin tones or different styles of noses.

You can also see "evolution" in domestic animals as we intentionally
(and sometimes accidentally) breed changes in the pets. It doesn't take
1,000 years to take one breed and get a new breed. For example, the
Siamese cat has been around for while, and sometimes there would be a
mutation of one gene to produce long hair. It didn't take long to
create a new breed called a Balinese that is exactly the same as a
siamese except it has long hair. And it breeds true. All you had to do
was breed the carriers of the mutated gene or those with the mutated
gene, and you got more of them. I actually have a Balinese that came
from two siamese. We owned both parents with short hair and were quite
surprised to have a kitten with long hair. Once a gene mutates like
this and reproduces, you have a change in the genes and that is
basically what evolution is.

Characteristics like size, nose, facial shape, ears, etc can change
very quickly. I read an article awhile back showing 4 breeds and how
they have changed in 40 years. The author obviously like the
"improvements" in the breed. I didn't. They had photos of champion cats
today and champion cats of the same breeds 40 years ago, and I liked
the older photos much better. But the point was obvious. The breeds
have changed a LOT in 40 years.