No Grain, No Gain?

So... based on my own knowledge of paleolithic hunter-gatherers and neolithic agriculture the original plan was for us to include some unprocessed natural whole grains in our diet at the end of summer and into fall.  These would be 'ancient' grains lacking gluten etc. Then Linda wrote to one of the 'paleo-diet gurus' that we think well of and asked about this.  He told her that our HG ancestors didn't harvest significant amounts of grain so don't do it.  Based on that I decided that I had better do a little research and to keep an open mind about whether or not to include grains in our diet. So I did.  This is what I discovered-
  I need to do more research.  First off the latest findings from Gobekle Tepe,  possibly the oldest known neolithic civilization dating to 12,000 years ago, is that there is evidence of bread and beer making.  They are very carefully not yet saying that these people cultivated wheat but it looks likely to me based on their findings so far. Google it- it's fascinating stuff!  Evidence is that this was a mature culture- they did not randomly pull their artistic conventions, rituals, building methods etc. out of nowhere; the culture that created Gobekle Tepe could be 15,000 years old or even older.., Ok that is just speculation but it's not unreasonable speculation.
  Recent evidence suggests preparation and consumption of grain 20-30 thousand years ago and perhaps as long as 200 thousand years ago. If our paleo peeps did do this though they did it in season... late summer or fall.  We'll tentatively stick to that plan for now but keep an open mind and do... you guessed it, more research.  Which we will naturally share with you.
  Whether or not to 'let them eat cake' so to speak is only one of many controversies surrounding primal or paleo diets and of course we are looking carefully at these arguments.  Grain or no grain, lean versus fat, salt or no salt... you would think that something called 'Primal' would be simpler!  The thing is not all of our paleolithic ancestors ate the same things.  In the far North they either herded animals or simply followed the herds and hunted them- there is some controversy over which. These ice-age folks had very, very short summers and even then 'summer' was a relative term.  Their diet seems to have run heavily to meat and fat. On the other hand people in tropical and sub-tropical regions seem to have eaten a lot more fruits, vegetables, tubers and even perhaps grain with only modest amounts of meat.  Cultures in-between were... well, in-between in their meat-to-vegetable ratios.  So it's likely that there is no single right way to do it and some of it may depend on your ethnic background. Or not.
  My ancestors have been in the melting pot for a long time so I am very much a 'mutt' genetically.  I am finding that 30-40% protein/ 60-70% vegetable ratio is working for me.  Linda is ethnically mostly  British and her mix is closer to 50/50 and that seems to be working for her... but it's early days so we'll see how that works out in the long run.
 The point is you are likely to have to fiddle a bit to find exactly what works for you.  The one thing that everyone seems to more or less agree on is that fewer carbs is better for weight loss but there isn't even a 100% consensus on that as long as the carbs are 'primally sourced.'

Our Primal diet, like life itself, remains a 'Work in Progress.'  We'll keep you updated!