[raybbr]

"Conversely, if we see equal frequencies of all types of skeletal elements it suggests that carcasses were transported intact and that minimal butchery was taking place at the kill site," said Faith, a George Washington University anthropologist.

He determined that 64,600 years ago, the cave dwellers -- including Neanderthals -- only brought back the choicest reindeer cuts. The meat seemed to multiply over the years so that by 12,285 years ago, virtually all parts of the reindeer were being eaten, with the animals constituting 90 percent of large mammal game.

This suggests the reindeer population in the region steadily increased over the years, so the cavemen didn't have to travel far out of their homes to get a nutritious reindeer dinner.

I am having difficulty reconciling this.

If the meat was plentiful they would only take the choicest meat because it was so plentiful. It would seem that they would only take the whole carcass if the food was in short supply - or the human population took off and they needed all parts of the deer to support the tribe.

[nicmarlo]

those were exactly my thoughts.

The more scarce the food, the more likely you would be to eat everything. The less scarce, the more likely you can be picky.