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And there were a number of other societies that didn't do anything like that because they didn't need to move around as much. Especially the ones in Africa, the

And there were a number of other societies that didn't do anything like that because they didn't need to move around as much. Especially the ones in Africa, the Middle East, and the other places that were in very fertile locations. Like many of these pop-anthropology and evolutionary psych people, they seem to ignore how useful people in their 50s-60s can be to small groups, especially for things like child care. Other dangers and just the toll of harsher environments did much more to lower the life expectancy than ritualized murder of old people.

WalterBright 9y ago
> because they didn't need to move around as much. Well, yeah, the comment applied to nomadic people. Where I live, the coyote population comes and goes, in reverse phase with the population of rabbits and other small creatures. The coyotes hunt till the game gets scarce, then they move on. They don't have a choice. Neither did nomadic people. > Other dangers and just the toll of harsher environments did much more to lower the life expectancy than ritualized murder of old people. Of course - not many people lived to be old. Neither scenario entices me to give up civilization for the life of a nomadic tribesman. But what are you, the nomadic tribesman, going to do with the old man who can't walk when you've got to follow the caribou herd or die of starvation? Downvote me all you like, but civilization gives us the luxury of choice, ethics, morality, etc. And so I choose civilization, because I don't want to be forced to leave the old people behind.