Yeah, they were too busy deselecting themselves from the gene pool to become very common, or much of a drag on the tribe.

These tended to be what was left out in the woods for "sacrifice". And I fully believe that blood sacrifice started to get rid of both downer/sick/crippled/substandard livestock and those deformed babies and fools who they couldn't afford to feed in hard times. But then, like everything else, it got twisted and perverted from there. Witness the story of Pan; not a god of shepherds and sheep; shepherds were afraid of him as a god of the wilderness and predators. He scared people out of the woods in a "panic" with creepy noises (some wild animal, probably, like a cougar or loons we have here; if you don't know what it was ...) and the shepherds would "sacrifice" to him. Yeah, by leaving dead/dying sheep at the edge of the forest for the wolves and lions to eat, so they don't have to come closer to get it and maybe kill some healthy ones, too. A bribe. No different than planting a "deer field" away from your fenced-in garden.

Yeah, they were too busy deselecting themselves from the gene pool to become very common, or much of a drag on the tribe.

These tended to be what was left out in the woods for "sacrifice". And I fully believe that blood sacrifice started to get rid of both downer/sick/crippled/substandard livestock and those deformed babies and fools who they couldn't afford to feed in hard times. But then, like everything else, it got twisted and perverted from there. Witness the story of Pan; not a god of shepherds and sheep; shepherds were afraid of him as a god of the wilderness and predators. He scared people out of the woods in a "panic" with creepy noises (some wild animal, probably, like a cougar or loons we have here; if you don't know what it was ...) and the shepherds would "sacrifice" to him. Yeah, by leaving dead/dying sheep at the edge of the forest for the wolves and lions to eat, so they don't have to come closer to get it and maybe kill some healthy ones, too. A bribe.