Dear Linda-
 
Yesterday you asked Bob C. "why were ground squirrels and hamsters
hunted?  You mentioned the squirrels were found in prehistoric garbage
heaps.  Were they still food sources as late as a few hundred BC?"
 
Bob is such a busy man, and I am so very excited that someone finally
asked a question that I am qualified to answer, that I will pretend you
asked me, instead!  You see, I majored in anthropology and minored in
geology, which is a fancy way of saying that I studied archaeology in
college, instead of learning how to earn a living.  I spent yeeeeears
studying prehistoric garbage heaps!  I also enjoy cooking.
 
So.  Here we go.  Ready?
 
Q.#1: Why were ground squirrels and hamsters hunted?
 
A: You hunt squirrels, THEN grind them.  They only come ground in
specialty shops, although I am sure you could make a deal with the
guy who works in the meat department of your supermarket.
 
Regarding hamsters, I'm not sure that I consider hamster hunting as
being,...well...sporting, if you know what I mean.  You have to bag a LOT
of them to make a decent meal.  As trophy kills, they leave a lot to be
desired.  I mean, those tiny little stuffed heads mounted on itty-bitty
wooden plaques just makes me feel sorry for them.
 
Q.#2:  Were they (squirrels) still food sources as late as a few hundred
B.C.?
 
A: Well, if you look in The Joy of Cooking, my mother's old dog-eared
copy of it, anyway, you will find a recipe for squirrel.  They are
evidently still a food source for someone other than my sister's cat,
well into the age of the printing press.
 
Q.#3: You mentioned that squirrels were found in prehistoric garbage
heaps.
 
A: Try that recipe, you'll find out why.  Squirrel is among the darkest
of the dark meats, actually you have to capitalize that as the Dark
Meats, as if Stephen King wrote a cookbook.  (Good name for a band,
actually.)  There is no wine, I repeat...no wine, that compliments
squirrel.
 
There. Hope I've helped!
Alexandra in Massachusetts
[Posted in FML issue 4063]