Jacqui of WordDreams is writing these amazing books on the early species of us … and has asked that we contribute various articles on aspects of their life … mine is:
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| Jacqui - smiling happily |
How did they store water?
Essentially they wouldn't have wanted to store it … as they'd have known where to find sources:
... they couldn't live without water;
... noting the seasonal swings;
... watching game and birds go to drink;
... they'd have noted the seasonal fruits and herbs ready to eat
... also they'd have realised there were water storing plants which are moisture rich in their flesh or roots …
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| Nara Melon |
These ancient inhabitants would have lived in and around an area where there'd have been sufficient resources to support the group, only spreading out when numbers of their group became too many, or they met others and thus Neanderthals spread …
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| Bushmen drinking from the bi bulb |
They'd have been constantly learning … adding to each generations' brain power as the semi-nomadic peoples lived and learnt.
They'd have lived in caves … where possibly a permanent water supply might have been found … or near a spring line …
Rivers were (and still are) both permanent - or ephemeral – would have been located and noted …
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| A Bushman drinking from an ostrich egg |
They'd have realised that Ostrich eggs could be used for storing/carrying water … these huge very nutritious eggs … would have been invaluable to indigenous groups … they'd learn to create sip-wells ... feeding water into an ostrich egg ...
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| Rocky outcrop |
There were no straight lines (despite those modern day tyre tracks!) to be followed, or corners cut … they had to find their way each day, otherwise they would not have been able to survive long.
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| Beef tripe - prepared for filling |
When they wanted to travel beyond their normal range … they'd have taken cleaned out intestines and stomachs of animals to hold enough water in case of need … but they'd not require much – those early peoples were very resilient.
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| Book two of the trilogy due out in April |
Jacqui's email details ... all her wonderful contributors can be found here ...
Word Dreams Book Blast for Endangered Species
I just congratulate Jacqui - her books are fascinating ... and I so enjoy them - it's great so many of us are promoting her second book in the trilogy ...
Positive Letters Inspirational Stories
11 comments:
Water is essential. It's interesting how early peoples made sure they had access.
I realise that our ancestors noted the seasonal fruits and herbs were ready to eat and tasted delicious. But I wonder if they knew that many fruits and vegetables carried a high percentage of water eg cucumbers and celery.
Huge congratulations to Jacquie.
And yes, our long ago ancestors were resourceful. They had to be.
Hari Om
Good musings, Hilary! A worthy contribution to the collection, I'm sure. YAM xx
@ Liz - thanks ... we, as humans, had to learn how to adapt to living ... so yes - early peoples knew what had to be done, otherwise they'd have died.
@ Hels - remember we're not talking today's world - so they'd have no idea about present day plants ... and they wouldn't have travelled that far and wide ...
@ Sue - yes Jacqui has been so adventurous and the Neanderthals were an extraordinary peoples ... as you say they had to be.
@ Yam - thanks I hope so ... I'll find out as they days go by!
Thanks you four ... it's difficult for us to think back that far - humanity has come so far - cheers and I'm so looking forward to reading Jacqui's book, when it comes out in April - cheers Hilary
Water is available from many sources and since life is impossible without it, no doubt ancient people were adept and finding it, and knew which fruits yielded high volumes of water too. And to think they didn’t even have plastic bottles to carry it in! I will follow the link to Jacque’s blog. David❤️
I often wonder how we would survive, and for how long, if all our modern conveniences were removed. Which are the most important? Water, shelter, food - which has the highest priority?
Thanks so much for hosting me, Hilary. You've added some great details to the topic which I appreciate.
@liz They were a lot smarter about that than we are these days. If there isn't a spigot, we're stuck!
@hels I think they did. They were clever about their food. There is evidence of them eating the most nutritious parts of animals first for reasons similar to what you're saying.
@elephantschild Our modern day hunter-gatherers and nomads still use a lot of these tricks
@yamini Thanks for visiting!
@David I include some of their tricks in my new book. It was especially critical during the apocryphal times of a massive global volcanic eruption
@jabblog I got into survivalist stories for just that reason Could we do it? Thanks for visiting.
This all makes perfect sense. Ostrich eggs are ingenious, and I wouldn't have considered organ sacs, but in a pinch.... Another wonderful stop on Jacqui's tour. Thanks for hosting, Hilary, and congrats to Jacqui!
The first time I read about ostrich eggs, I didn't know how tough those shells are. You can stand on them! Modern day hunter gatherers use the same method.
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