Is This How Elves Live?

[mmadsen]

Is this how elves live -- like the proto-Japanese Jomon hunter-gatherers?

Archeologists studying Jomon hunter-gatherers have found not only hard-to-carry pottery (including pieces up to three feet tall) but also heavy stone tools, remains of substantial houses that show signs of repair, big village sites of 50 or more dwellings, and cemeteries — all further evidence that the Jomon people were sedentary rather than nomadic. Their stay-at-home lifestyle was made possible by the diversity of resource-rich habitats available within a short distance of one central site: inland forests, rivers, seashores, bays, and open oceans. Jomon people lived at some of the highest population densities ever estimated for hunter-gatherers, especially in central and northern Japan, with their nut-rich forests, salmon runs, and productive seas. The estimate of the total population of Jomon Japan at its peak is 250,000 — trivial, of course, compared with today, but impressive for hunter-gatherers.​

 

[ejja_1]

I always thought they lived with reindeer and a jolly old fat guy.....

 

[Woas]

I guess elves would be hunter-gatherers since there would be like all of what... 3 generations of them? So if you pretend all our grandparents where the first humans on earth, elven 'grandparents' would have been the first elves. And since they live so long they probably don't adapt as fast as humans and would still hold onto their prehistoric/primitive traits.

 

[nick012000]

I guess elves would be hunter-gatherers since there would be like all of what... 3 generations of them? So if you pretend all our grandparents where the first humans on earth, elven 'grandparents' would have been the first elves. And since they live so long they probably don't adapt as fast as humans and would still hold onto their prehistoric/primitive traits.

Oh, come on. Elven generations are only about a hundred years apart at most. There's be dozens of generations between the strapping young elves of today, and the elves of the founding of elven society, however many thousands of years ago.

 

[moritheil]

My interpretation is better than your interpretation because ____.

 

[Clavis]

I like the idea that Elves would combine hunter-gathering with farming of tree crops, especially chestnuts. They same way humans regard cereal grains as staples, I would think Elves would regard chestnuts, nuts, and acorns as their staple foods. Chestnuts are in fact an excellent choice as a staple, as they can be made into porridges, flatbreads, pasta, sweets, etc. They were widely used as an alternative to grain in the Middle Ages, and are still important in some areas. Plus, the elves would be able, through their superior tree husbandry, to breed even better varieties than humans have access to.

 

[HeavenShallBurn]

My personal preference for Elven Lifestyle is briefly before they were doused in alchemists' fire and lit

But for the traditional wood elf archetype I've always considered the Jomon, Ainu, and a few others whose spelling I would completely botch and must look up as good models.

 

[Simm]

I doubt it, elves are likely to be technogically and socially advanced because they lack those factors which held humans back. They have long lives allowing an indevediual to build great expertese in their chosen field(s), and they can accomplish nearly twice as much in a day but require the same amount of sustinance allowing for a much larger proportion of their population to be specialized.

 

[mmadsen]

I doubt it, elves are likely to be technogically and socially advanced...

The point isn't that elves are primitive, but that they can sustain a civilization without farming -- or without typical monoculture farming.

 

[billd91]

Meh. Elves in my Greyhawk sometimes farm. It depends on where they're living. There are, however, lots of elven enclaves that trade for grains with the fruits from their orchards and products of their vineyards. In other words, they aren't hunters and gatherers and they do engage in substantial agriculture.