Eating Mammoths in America: A Survival Guide for the Sane

Some recent nutrition research you didn’t know you needed

Americans haven’t always eaten as badly as they do now. There was a time when they dined on the fat of the land, quite literally. They had to, if they wanted to survive.

A study published in the journal Science Advances has revealed that early Americans ate mainly mammoths. And when they weren’t eating mammoths, they were eating the next biggest beast they could find.

These were the Western Clovis people who inhabited America 13,000 years ago and who regularly hunted mammoth, and to a lesser extent bison, elk and a type of camel.

Being able to bring down a mammoth is an impressive feat, unimaginable for most of us whose greatest food procurement skill is driving to the shops.

Why mammoth? Because one kill alone would feed a tribe of fifty people for at least three months. It made economic sense. Plus, mammoths were very, very fat and as American chef and TV personality Julia Child once remarked, ‘fat gives things flavor’. It also fills you up and provides the nutrients you need to see you through the Ice Age.

In short, early Americans followed a ketogenic diet. Fortunately for them, there were no experts around to warn them…