200,000 years ago, weren't we all in Africa?

For my B-Day, my daughter gave me one of those DNA tests that will tell your origins, from National Geographic. I'm expecting the results soon.

Like Seahawk said, I remember rope being a key, lots of it. You can make snares, fishing nets, fishing lines, etc.

I'm 59, and while I get around, I'd prefer to have participated in this 40 years ago. Actually, I'd have preferred not to even back then.

Hawaii for me.

I could definitely survive in So. Illinois. Game year round, wild berries, mushrooms, pawpaws, fish, crawdads. LOts of minerals, wood, shelter making materials, natural rock formations not associated with living in the mountains proper...

I'd make a good woodland Indian.

ROFL! I dunno, but my sister and I both are gingers, so my mom must've REALLY liked the milkman if that was the case.

Thinking about it, though...dad DID divorce her shortly after I was born...

I'm thinking about Northern Florida or Golf coast panhandle where there are bountiful fish and large tidal basins where at low tide you could gather clams, crabs, and seaweed to keep from scurvy. There are also coconut trees, and I believe pineapple trees in the area. You can make rudimentary rope from weaving the fiberous part of reeds, and the brown part of cat tail plants makes a wonderful fire starter bundle (it's soft, cotton like, and dry inside so a spark starts it easily). I have made fire from a using a bow, drill and bearing stone before while camping.

I would make a strong priority out of finding sharp stone or making my own by flintknapping (breaking off rounded edges). You absolutely need several stone knives, and a coupla spears to go after small gators or maybe a wild pig. Palm fronds weaved together over a sapling roof structure tied together with some of the self made rope will be a good way to stay dry, and a raised off the ground branch/sapling cot with a rope and leave mattress would keep you out of the cold sand and sand mites.

I picked a Southern climate, because keeping warm requires an enormous amount of preparation and energy in a cold climate, and clothing isn't as neccesary.

Exactly. And the toughest place I could survive in from dead scratch is Hawaii. I'd just lie down and die if it was a cold climate location. And I'e use my modern knowledge to begin fermentation. I don't know what pineapple wine tastes like, but I'd know pretty soon.

Pineapples are a transplant from the Caribbean

milkman?


BTW - skin cancer on white skin takes a while; sunburn sufficient to cause debility (unable to hunt game or forage/garden) might happen much more quickly

for dark skin, Vitamin D deficiency is an issue

No. Homo dates back about 1 Myrs BP in parts of Europe.

then again, what do you mean by "we" kimosabe?

Whatever. I'm sure there was native fruit. I chose Hawaii since I believe in 200,000 B.C. there was little there to harm man. But, with today's knowledge at hand, I'd stay away from insects not knowing how to use them beneficially. Now if I was Les Stroud, I'd be in Heaven.

Anyone recommend a good book/source to learn survival craft, preferably the bare-naked kind of survival we are talking about here?

Not that I expect to ever need the knowledge, but you never know . . .

I mean, suppose we don't get dropped in Hawaii or Florida.

Army Field Manuals are my go to

Foxfire books

Who you calling a "homo" i should study up on the subject of Genealogy. I'll post my Nat. Geo. DNA results when they are done in a week or two. I'm pretty sure that I have Afro-American roots. Does that qualify me for any freebies?

us and our nearest relatives

that Lucy chick is out

A position at Harvard possibly.

Yep, those are the books. I have a full set.

This IS an interesting postulation in that most education in modern times does not focus on survival. It is assumed. Nowadays even medically.

I once asked my eye doctor what my vision was in 20/20terms. He said that after about 20/100 that scale didn't mean much. Instead he held up his hand and asked how many fingers he was holding up as he moved closer to me. When he got close enough I told him how many fingers I saw (it was more than one). He stopped and asked me how many feet away from each other we were. We decided that it was about eight feet. So, he said, I would describe your eyesight as "finger count at eight feet".

I would not have survived long as a caveman 200,000 years ago.

Being naked as a jaybird, the biggest risk to life would be extreme temperatures. And extreme temperatures can mean just widely ranging temperatures. In example, in the Middle East I have experienced 40° at night and 110° during the day, that is an extreme that is complex enough to cause death, even without the threat of predators. So, with your book of rules I would have to say a place like Southern California or Italy, assuming that the weather patterns would be the same as they are today. There are not temperature extremes and it would give me time to survive long enough to survive then build shelter, then hunt and gather all the while making water the highest priority for the sequence to occur. Put me butt naked with no tools in an area with temperature extremes and I give myself 10 to 14 days max. And I've had some training.