Yesterday I drank a coffee in the Marks and Spencer’s restaurant in Inverurie. I was aware of genes driving shoppers whose ancestors evolved to be hunters and gatherers in the African savanna; and I noted that their stone-age, mental frameworks have now to work in the computer-age.
In the savanna there were many edible plants and animals. Some were available all year round while others were seasonal. There were fruit trees offering a superabundance for a short while and then nothing for a long while. So people moved around their territory to take advantage of the different harvests.
The edible parts of plants could be high up in trees (eg mangoes), at just about ground level (eg raspberries), or underground. (eg potatoes). Most animals can move quickly and are therefore hard to catch and kill. Tools had to be invented, and hunting usually involved teams capturing their prey from land and water homes.
Our human ancestors first appeared in East Africa about 200,000 years ago. They multiplied and moved out of Africa to occupy most of the world. They managed this while organized as hunters and gatherers. It was only about 10,000 years ago that settled agriculture became the main cultural form and only 5,000 years since the development of ‘civilizations’ with their elitist divisions of labour. An axial age from 800-200 BC saw the emergence of self consciousness in several different civilizations. This was when most of the world’s major religions began.
Modern industrial society began about 250 years ago and the rate of change and invention since then has been ferocious. And the M&S coffee shop in Inverurie was built well within living memory.
There are territories in the supermarkets. The fresh fruit and vegetables come from many far-flung parts of the planet and end up beside each other. There is also a meat section. This includes prawns, mussels, fish, chicken, sheep, pig, and cow. No horse, dog or worm meat in Inverurie and no amphibians or reptiles. There are ancient and unwritten rules about what is acceptable. Other sections include those for bread, alcohol, dairy products and ‘ready meals’.
In supermarkets there is breathtaking, sumptuous abundance with a wide range of choice which is increased by special offers and value lines. And there are other supermarkets (eg Tesco, Asda, and Lidl), that target shoppers from different socio-economic categories. Your social status and place in the hierarchy are intimately linked to where you shop, what you buy, and how much you pay.
The standard story is that, in ancient times, men did the hunting (especially for big game) and women did the gathering. In M&S on a late Wednesday morning most of the shoppers are grey haired and female and they will be bringing home the bacon. In Tesco in the evenings and at the weekend more men are involved. Perhaps they have a lot to say about what items from the animal sections go into the trophy basket. I will have to pay more attention to this in future - both in myself and in other hunters and gatherers!
When the breadwinner brings home the bacon s/he makes a round of sandwiches for the team.
That was an interesting read! I think the men are there in the evenings and weekends to help with the heavy lifting and the main shop of the week! They'll have their say on which roast to buy but also they'll slip those little extras into the trolley - the crisps, chocolate and beer :) The woman's role has changed so much over the years but I believe that men's role has changed much more. So much so that I guess they don't really know where they stand today. Thanks for letting me have a think about it. I
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