Foraging Fixation
I find myself frequently thinking about our past. Not our family’s past but our past as a species. Santayana’s famous quote says it all for me, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it”. I really never took the advice verbatim, probably because I didn’t like the word condemned. You could say I was just inspired by it. When I first read the phrase I saw, “learn from history, draw from it, and understand it”. So I did just that, and now most of what I read or watch on TV is historically oriented. That brings me to my observance for today.
My brother Ed has recently added a plug-in to this site that sends notifications of new posts to our e-mail address. New technology, you got to love it, or do we? Upon receiving this news from Ed I felt a little remorse. And as I thought about it I realized I might know why. He took my foraging away!
As hunter gatherers, life’s more important activities essentially came down to filling the three basic needs: food, clothing and shelter. Now the clothing and shelter part of that eventually came with a labored time share clause, so to speak. There was some permanence to your efforts. That animal hide, that was so proudly donned, could be worn for more than just one day. It could have been worn a week, perhaps a month, or quite even possibly a year or more (ugh!). No doubt soap came swiftly into existence and was added as an essential need on the survival list. The same principle applied as well to that shitty shack you just built. Even the tribes that liked to travel built homes they could break down and carry with them. Food, though, had to be sought on a daily basis and, if they were my relatives, they had to have been hungry all the time.
From the minute they got up they probably started their consumption. Instead of grabbing a magazine, during their morning evacuation, they were probably grabbing a handful of berries; which probably also eventually led to our dependence on fertilizer. Someone had to have scratched their head one morning and wondered, “Hmm, why do you think those berries get so big over by the dumping grounds? Do you suppose…? Could it be…?” At first he was probably considered a moron. Eventually the idea took hold, but then, this is a little off topic and could be the source for another blog.
Foraging became incorporated into the daily routine, but it wasn’t looked at as a chore. There was satisfaction from hunger that came from successful foraging. Tasteful finds added even more pleasure to the experience. Bountiful finds resulted in surplus that could be saved for later. These surpluses were carried back and prepared together; hence, the dinner party was born. Men and women ate along the way as they scoured the countryside for food. Imagine the pride and the glee experienced by the men when they returned from a successful hunt knowing they can feed their families with a tasty meal of meat. Or the joy that came over the woman, who stumbled upon a plentiful patch of delicious greens or mushrooms to go along with that meal of fire roasted meat. Dinner became a focal point in the day of a family, and an anticipated event for social interaction.
With modern conveniences at hand, one might think that foraging is gone and no longer needed. To this I disagree. We’ve kept it safe, tucked away deep within our psyche and used for pleasures and purposes other than survival. Men still love to hunt. Why? Can you get much tastier than cow, pig, sheep or chicken? I mean, we raise them for that purpose, because they tasted the best, and they’re all right there neatly prepared at the local grocery. But, we still love the hunt. For the non-hunters, the grocery store still provides us with our foraging fix. We’ll go when we’re hungry but we don’t know for what yet. What’s looks good? What’s the best deal? What will go good with that? Women love to go shopping. Many times they don’t even know for what, they just do it as an activity: checking out the sales, what’s new in style, looking for something tasteful or unique. I, on the other hand, like to forage the web. Most call it browsing, but it’s still foraging. We scour the world electronically looking for rewarding information, good deals or answer to daily or personal problems. It relaxes me. It provides me with a foraging fix.
People still, and always will, love to forage. Antique stores, swap meets and craft shops will probably always be popular because of the pleasure we receive from foraging. If it came to a point in life where everything we wanted or needed was automatically delivered to us, we would probably still have the craving to forage. What else could be out there? What can I do with what was given to me? Could the quality of what I like be better from another source? It’s the elements of surprise and discovery that keeps this need close. It is the driving force behind exploration and expansionism.