Semi-Hibernation for Winter Survival

[Paul W]

Yes, they seem to be unusual. The only people I heard of doing similar is the Mongolians who stocked up for the winter too.

Explorer Frederick Cook wintered up there in even harsher conditions with some inuit claiming the Muskoxen was they only reason they survived. And I was going to draw comparison to the Clovis people but the article below beat me too it. Fascinating people you've introduced me too, must read up more.

This book Muskoxen and their hunters: a history By Peter C. Lent offers a theory on how they survived.



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Hope it helps

 

[silentpaddler]

I found an interesting 9 part documentary closely related to this subject...interested to hear peoples' thoughts on it....
Youtube..'the First Inhabitants of North America'....[video=youtube;rZrXQy2tJDw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpag e&v=rZrXQy2tJDw[/video]

Btw Tim I think your flint work is astoundingly good...

 

[chjo]

Recall reading an article about French peasants going into a type of hibernation anybody else remember or was i dreaming.

 

[Tim Rast]

Recall reading an article about French peasants going into a type of hibernation anybody else remember or was i dreaming.

Its linked in reply #9 above.

 

[chjo]

Can't open the link but will google and have a look thanks Tim R.

 

[wattsy]

don't we need more calories in winter to keep our body temperatures at a safe level? and BSE as far as i'm aware was spread by feeding cattle the remains of other cattle, in the form of Meat and Bone Meal (MBM) the actual cause of it is still unkown, nasty little disease basically causes a spongy degeneration in the brain and spinal cord (think loofah).

 

[rommy]

don't we need more calories in winter to keep our body temperatures at a safe level? and BSE as far as i'm aware was spread by feeding cattle the remains of other cattle, in the form of Meat and Bone Meal (MBM) the actual cause of it is still unkown, nasty little disease basically causes a spongy degeneration in the brain and spinal cord (think loofah).

Not so sure about the link to cattle feed. A very similar disease to BSE was noted in cannabalistic tribes who ate the brains of their enemies and also in tribes who ate the brains of their deceased relatives for religious reasons. It was called 'kuru' or 'laughing sickness' and was 100% deadly. It only stopped in the fifties due to governments banning the practice.

It seems strange that BSE has also been eliminated now that brains are no longer allowed into the food chain?

 

[dwardo]

I recently read an article on hypothermia that got me thinking. There have been people brought back from the brink of death due to staggeringly long periods of exposure to cold and with equally low core body temperatures and associated low heart rate. Maybe we have just lost the ability to induce and then control this "state" for want of a better term?

 

[wattsy]

Not so sure about the link to cattle feed. A very similar disease to BSE was noted in cannabalistic tribes who ate the brains of their enemies and also in tribes who ate the brains of their deceased relatives for religious reasons. It was called 'kuru' or 'laughing sickness' and was 100% deadly. It only stopped in the fifties due to governments banning the practice.

It seems strange that BSE has also been eliminated now that brains are no longer allowed into the food chain?

BSE standing for Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy has a very strong link to cattle feed since thats how its spread the actual cause of the disease is unknown like i said. BSE hasn't been eliminated either in fact the numbers of fatalities are expected to rise because the disease has a long incubation period (up to 4 years).

Kuru is a related disease still a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (there are many) caused by prions. all prion disease's are deadly there's no treatment for them

 

[rommy]

I did write that BSE was SIMILAR to kuru??

Taking brains out of the food chain has eliminated CJD in humans surely? The incubation period you quote would be accounted by the eating of meat products before the ban was placed?

 

[Tengu]

So how did people manage in the past?

I did read a bit about the Dorset Island people. Dont know much but they did seem hopelessly primitive compared to Inuit/Thule cultiure.

Im sure if they `had` been domesticating the musk ox the Inuit would have noticed and told stories.

The Grenlanders had a tale that very far away, there were a people who kept Cariboo.

A relic from their life in siberia or some Norse guy experimenting??

 

[boisdevie]

I recently read an article on hypothermia that got me thinking. There have been people brought back from the brink of death due to staggeringly long periods of exposure to cold and with equally low core body temperatures and associated low heart rate. Maybe we have just lost the ability to induce and then control this "state" for want of a better term?

I seem to remember seeing an article about the Falklands War when injured soldiers survived becuase they were so cold after being injuured.

 

[wattsy]

Taking brains out of the food chain has eliminated CJD in humans surely? The incubation period you quote would be accounted by the eating of meat products before the ban was placed?

apparently not since fatalities are expected to continue, and the disease can be transmitted by and tissue from the infected animal not just brains

 

[Toddy]

and it doesn't need to be obvious tissue either.
If a scrapied sheep dies and some breaks down into the soil or watercourse and one way or another someone eats/drinks/ or gets any of the material into a subcutaneous layer, then the disease is transmittable.
Damned hard things to kill are prions.

Toddy

 

[Jus_like_that]

Farming communities in certain parts of europe used to semi-hibernate through winter right up to the turn of the last century. so yeah completely feasible.

Very interesting subject.

ATB

Adam

 

[Golb]

The higher the amount of sugar in your blood, the higher your ability to withstand the cold. Some scientists think diabetes is a heritance from our ancestors who had raised blood sugars to survive in a cold climate. Other than us, they didn't grow old enough to experience the bad side affects of diabetes. When 25 years old, you would probably be the oldest of you tribe. To bad for us they didn't develop the ability to cure from diabetes, maybe because the climate became warmer?

 

[Ronnie]

The Big Sleep

 

[Tengu]

Boy, they must be paraniod about rustlers.

 

[Justin Time]

Taking brains out of the food chain has eliminated CJD in humans surely? The incubation period you quote would be accounted by the eating of meat products before the ban was placed?

CJD was present in humans before BSE and known to be infectious only in surgical type situations. It will probably always be a rare disease. I remember nursing a man in the early 80s with CJD. The scientists talk of "variant CJD" for that apparently caused by BSE. Seems no one is quite sure how long the incubation period will be in humans. As a beef eater I'm happy that there are steps to keep possibly infected material out of the food chain.

 

[Tim Rast]

So how did people manage in the past?

I did read a bit about the Dorset Island people. Dont know much but they did seem hopelessly primitive compared to Inuit/Thule cultiure.

Im sure if they `had` been domesticating the musk ox the Inuit would have noticed and told stories.

The Grenlanders had a tale that very far away, there were a people who kept Cariboo.

A relic from their life in siberia or some Norse guy experimenting??

There's no evidence that any of the Palaeoeskimos domesticated musk-ox, but the musk-ox natural defensive posture against wolves makes them vulnerable against humans. They create a circle of adult animals facing outward to challenge any wolves that come close, and the calves are safe in the middle. It works against wolves, but makes them sitting ducks for human hunters.