BTW, the Long Hunt wasn't mentioned either but we know that's how the Iroquois and other American Indians handled the winter starvation problem.
Frankly, I think somebody just forgot to write it down for you.
I’m not saying humans didn’t engage in hunting. That would be absurd to say otherwise. But to suggest that autism somehow gives advantages as it (theoretically) did during an era of human history where humans where just a hunter-gather species is likewise absurd. The implication is that autism is a remnant of the evolutionary process....and I don’t buy it.
Give me a high function obsessive-compulsive Aspergers person the next time I go to pick blueberries and blackberries. I have gradually come to the conclusion that my father was high function Aspergers. Once set on a task he worked non stop. At age 80 he was complaining that he could no longer work with me an 8 hour day on renovating projects.
I took care of my late husband as he was failing with Alzheimers. I have a hypothesis that there was a biological advantage to the Alzheimers gene in primative, especially northern, societies. Before it got really bad he passed through a phase where when he got hungry he would leave the house and I would have to run after him to bring him back as by that time he could no longer find his way home. I had to bring him into the kitchen as I quickly fixed food and feed him nibbles so he wouldn’t get up and try to leave. I had read stories about how elderly Indians during starving times would wander off into the woods and die so there was more food for the tribe. I now wonder if they were in the middle stages of Alzheimers, and just woke up at night hungry and went off looking for food and couldn’t find their way home again. This would have a survival advantage for their children and grandchildren.
At that stage I found that my husband could still do useful things if they were a continuous action like sweeping the sidewalk. I imagine that things like knapping flint arrows, or weaving baskets, or molding pottery would be similar. He could also do things if he was asked, like carry grocery bags. He loved to work and we built a small cabin in the country. We had no power there. I would start a saw cut in a timber and he would finish it for me. He would hold wood in position while I hammered. The only time I had a problem was when I was repairing the roof, and since he could not see me he kept trying to walk off with the ladder;-). Caring for someone with Autism or Alzheimer’s is a trial, but there are positive things that can be done if we look carefully.