I wasn't aware this was posted here! But as a said in the other thread about this, these people possess an incredible desire to live that I feel most of us will never feel. To live on such a diet as they did, and to live a life that has no room for recreation or fun, I can't even imagine what it must have been like on a daily basis.
I agree - it's so unfathomable to imagine not knowing so many things. I find it difficult to commend them much, if only because it's all they'd ever known. It's impressive because it sounds like torture to anybody who lives in human society, but to them it was "normal".
"It was not until the late 1950s, when Dmitry reached manhood, that they first trapped animals for their meat and skins. Lacking guns and even bows, they could hunt only by digging traps or pursuing prey across the mountains until the animals collapsed from exhaustion. Dmitry built up astonishing endurance, and could hunt barefoot in winter, sometimes returning to the hut after several days, having slept in the open in 40 degrees of frost, a young elk across his shoulders." It's nice to know that humans haven't grown so far out of the wild that, upon being thrust back into it, a person can still "regress" back to the hunters we were. Strong, fast, and tough
Well lets be honest, these people where probably not coming from the luxury most of us are used to today. A lot of modern people lack a lot of the practical skills that our grandfathers took for granted (you didn't call a plumber you fixed it yourself)
I'm sure I'm not the only one on here that sometimes fantasises about what it would be like to live in the wilderness, away from the hassles and worries of everyday life. One thing I don't get an appreciation for is just how damn difficult it is to survive. Especially in Siberia.
I sometimes think a house in the woods near a small city would be ideal. One of my roommates said in response to this article that he'd like to live in the woods an hour drive away from the grocery store, etc. In his mind that was a "little reclusive." I daydream about it, but I don't have a desire to live quite like that, or even what I first mentioned - I generally would prefer to live in/near a city and escape to the woods as compared to the reverse. Doesn't stop me from thinking about it though...
The article mentions hunting by chasing animals to the point of exhaustion. Here's an African tribe doing the same thing for those interested in the earliest form of hunting. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=826HMLoiE_o
I hope I get a chance to explore and witness pristine wilderness at some point. I envy the connection with nature they must have had. For them, God provided everything they ever had through their immediate surroundings. That simplicity and closeness with the world is something I wish I could experience. Not many people do anymore.