So way back in the day life itself was like certain sports where you can’t seriously compete after an age like 30. To me this suggests that man’s biggest enemy was other men. Because if you didn’t have to worry about other men, if you made it to 30 you could probably make it to 40.
My reasoning here is this. It doesn’t make sense to me that a 20 year old could outrun a tiger but a 30 year old could not. Probably neither could. Also probably a 30 year old could still hunt/gather enough calories to sustain himself.
But where 30 starts getting old is having to compete in a fight to the death with a 22 year old. In that case he’s going to have a real problem. Some might succeed based on guile and experience but probably physical strength and endurance were more important.
At some point humans probably changed some of the social parameters and stopped killing each other off as they had in the past.
More injuries at 30 than at 20. And the ability of the body to heal is better at 20 than at 30.
Think we are saying the same thing.
It also probably depends on a social structure. Elder males may have been respected for their knowledge and life experience and had to compete less with the younger males.
Garde la Foi, mes amis! Nous nous sommes les sauveurs de la République! Maintenant et Toujours!
(Keep the Faith, my friends! We are the saviors of the Republic! Now and Forever!)
LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)
I expect infections of all sorts were the biggest killers.
More likely it was not a problem in getting calories and protein at 20 or 40.
It was probably disease, infection and injury.
Their hygiene was probably horrible. Dysentery was probably rampant.
They drank from water they used for a toilet. They ate raw foods.
They were running from the tiger and fell down the rocks. Broken limbs did not heal.
And that little cut you got yesterday when you were pruning your hedges....that could have killed you.
Life sucked all around back then.
The 20 year old didn't have to be able to outrun the tiger, just needed to be able to outrun the 30 year old.
It really had to be survival of the fittest, every minute of every day was all about survival.
I agree, although as someone pointed out above, old age and guile overcome youth and skill. The older man will probably have a great deal of experience, having survived such fights in the past.
Also, one of the threats to a meat-eater is other meat-eaters. Time and again cannibalism is suggested by marks on fossil remains, going back as far as Homo Erectus. The primate method of hunting though is to gang up on the prey. That strategy is common among canine and feline species as well. If the objective is to obtain mates, among primates the strategy has been an alpha male with three or more female mates. That’s also common among canines and felines, ants, well, pretty much you name it. :’)
The need to hunt in groups isn’t necessarily incompatible with polygamy of this kind, but it isn’t necessarily compatible either. :’)