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Not that likely without modern weapons. Hunting big animals was because of that a collective endeavor that involved most of the tribe for a long stretch of time

Not that likely without modern weapons. Hunting big animals was because of that a collective endeavor that involved most of the tribe for a long stretch of time. Hunting is time and energy extensive, not to forget the danger. Before meat preservation techniques AFAIK developed around 5000 BCE, there wouldn't be a logic for this kind of tradition to develop, as it would surely reduce survival fitness for the tribe that adopted it.

throwaway0a5e 5y ago
Exactly. Neolithic people had pretty bad food security. To intentionally reduce overall efficiency of the system would be folly and everyone would know it. After the third time you dump a rhino into the tribe's food processing pipeline and waste half of it before it can be eaten there will be a new directive or there will be a new chief.
- londons_explore 5y ago
  Knowing you have lots of people with the skill to kill a rhino could be good for food security. When other food sources are scarce, you can go use those rhino killing skills to feed yourselves, while other tribes who don't have experience fail to catch a rhino. This assumes that learning and practicing a skill is easier when food is abundant, and that skill can then be used in harder times. Armies do the same when they spend all day long practicing without actually going to war. By your argument that would be a waste of resources, but history shows that well trained armies win wars.
  - throwaway0a5e 5y ago
    Don't get me wrong, if they're looking for antelope and see a rhino they'll be all over the rhino. But they're not gonna waste good opportunities to get the food they need in order to go looking for a rhino. Just like everything else in life it's a bajillion variable tradeoff with potential second and 3rd order effects. I think it suffices to say that the guy in charge of the hunting party isn't gonna risk his team getting hurt going after a rhino unless there's a damn good reason to make that gamble.
ben7799 5y ago
If the weather is cold (as it was) the meat will freeze and/or can be dried quickly and be preserved over the course of the winter. Modern subsistence hunters still do this. Hunt a large animal or two at the start of winter and the meat can be frozen and then cooked all through the winter. A couple of Moose for example in modern times could provide 1000lbs of stored frozen meat for a family to get through the winter. I am not necessarily saying that this would make it make sense for a tribe to bring down a dangerous 7000lb rhino and try to preserve it that way, but if the weather was cold during this period in Siberia it would have been possible.

throwaway0a5e 5y ago

Exactly. Neolithic people had pretty bad food security. To intentionally reduce overall efficiency of the system would be folly and everyone would know it. After the third time you dump a rhino into the tribe's food processing pipeline and waste half of it before it can be eaten there will be a new directive or there will be a new chief.

londons_explore 5y ago
Knowing you have lots of people with the skill to kill a rhino could be good for food security. When other food sources are scarce, you can go use those rhino killing skills to feed yourselves, while other tribes who don't have experience fail to catch a rhino. This assumes that learning and practicing a skill is easier when food is abundant, and that skill can then be used in harder times. Armies do the same when they spend all day long practicing without actually going to war. By your argument that would be a waste of resources, but history shows that well trained armies win wars.
- throwaway0a5e 5y ago
  Don't get me wrong, if they're looking for antelope and see a rhino they'll be all over the rhino. But they're not gonna waste good opportunities to get the food they need in order to go looking for a rhino. Just like everything else in life it's a bajillion variable tradeoff with potential second and 3rd order effects. I think it suffices to say that the guy in charge of the hunting party isn't gonna risk his team getting hurt going after a rhino unless there's a damn good reason to make that gamble.

ben7799 5y ago

If the weather is cold (as it was) the meat will freeze and/or can be dried quickly and be preserved over the course of the winter. Modern subsistence hunters still do this. Hunt a large animal or two at the start of winter and the meat can be frozen and then cooked all through the winter. A couple of Moose for example in modern times could provide 1000lbs of stored frozen meat for a family to get through the winter. I am not necessarily saying that this would make it make sense for a tribe to bring down a dangerous 7000lb rhino and try to preserve it that way, but if the weather was cold during this period in Siberia it would have been possible.