Could you survive as a caveman/cavewoman?

Yes, ive played Fallout 3 for over 200+ hours on Xbox 360. I am a Wasteland survivor!

I think I could survive… I suppose it depends on how badly damaged the environment is. I know where to locate water in my area, and I know some plants which can be eaten. I’m not sure if I could kill animals though. Perhaps if there were domestic animals around which were no afraid of humans (and therefore would not run), I could catch them and kill them…. but the wild animals would be more of a challenge. I might be able to kill some of the slower moving animals, or wounded animals. I can also fish, so I think I’d be alright.

If there were ruins left, I could take shelter. Also, I know of a few houses in my area with basements. If the occupants were dead, I could hide out there. If there was nothing available, I could build my own shelter, but I’m not sure if it would withstand rough weather.

Only if i had one of those caveman bat things to hit objects over the head. i would also require a truckload of Bic lighters.

Yes we’d cultivate green glowing vegetables and fruit like they eat in Chernobyl.
It would probably give us super powers.

@StupidGirl Green glowing veggies are my favorite! Yum!

Amazing how many questions are about sacrifice & hardship. Seeing as though you’re asking a fundamentally lets pretend type question I shall answer in kind. If Raquel Welch was there as her charachter in the movie one million years bc. I’d do more than survive. I’d proceed toward the pleasurable task of repopulation. With the delectable Miss Welch as my concubine.

I’m not sure how I’d deal with the physical demands of living as a hunter-gatherer, as I’m reasonably fit but probably not enough to catch animals or lug supplies from place to place. I do, however, watch Man vs Wild every week, which is sure to give me an upper hand. Maybe.

I would kill people and eat them. Then build a time machine out of sticks and stones then travel to when google and microsoft shares at the low point, buy millions, then sell at their peak high. Then live my days getting drunk with hookers in one of my many mansions.

I doubt that I could be totally self-sufficient on my own for an extended period of time although I could probably scrape by in the short term. I’d probably seek out friends and/or strangers that possessed skills that could benefit all of us as we’d be much more stronger and smarter as a collective (or a clan, perhaps).

@pjanaway Pretty impressive survival skills! I will try and stay out of your way!! lol!

Given the skills I possess now, I could make a good try at it.

We are not cavemen/cavewomen?

It is all relevant to the times. As well as I am surviving now, I would be then.

I would rule at being a cavewoman.

Well, I’m fat enough that I would probably “live” for quite awhile. But once my fat reserves were gone, I’m not sure. I know where our water supplies are, but I don’t trust that they’re terribly clean. In the spring and summer I would be able to find fruits, berries, plants etc. But in the winter there’s nothing. I would probably have to rely on a suicidal animal to just give itself to me.

Eagle Scout. No problem. Although I think that most people would get on better than we think. Human beings are amazingly resilient and flexible under pressure, as well as being willing to help one another.

@Snarp I am a scout leader and you as an Eagle would treat survival as second nature.

I see all too often less skilled people would more often make the fundamental error of not making shelter their #1 priority.

UGHugguhhhhqooodyahugghh ugh!

@Cruiser You should go to Pandora if you like green glowing food!

I don’t have the knowledge to live off the land. But I’m a quick adapter. I can certainly learn what I need, when it comes down to a matter of life and death.

I have the housekeeping part down cold.

Probably not.

Just being honest. I could find other people and mooch off them, though.

There would be houses and buildings left. If it was big enough we’d all be going to die eventually-see On the Beach by Neville Chute. So I say we could all live quite awhile on all the food there is. Those poor chickens, and pigs in the concete buildings might be alive if the bomb landed far enough away. This is not quite on topic is it? I know how to garden, sew, can, cook beans and legumes so if there was anything to work with I think I’d be okay if I was in a commune situation.

I will go find Jean M. Auel in Oregon and follow her wherever she goes. She will be my Clan leader.

yes, and my first job would be hunting down and eating all the vegetarians that survived. Even glow-in-the-dark vegetarians probably taste best.

…could you find the shelter, food and water you would need to survive??
Yeah..With those GEICO residuals, well…

Assuming food would still grow I’d be okay. I could learn to skin a zombie and make a stew if pressed.

@Silhouette now what kind of vegetables would you add to your Zombie Stew??

@Cruiser Blood oranges. :-)

Okay, that’s a fruit, but you get my point…

@Dr_Dredd WHAT??? No brainfruit??? ;)

@Cruiser Beets me? I’d use whatever turnups. :o)

Ah, @Cruiser, I stand corrected. :-)

Maybe cauliflower. It looks like brains!

After Armageddon, there will be plenty of tools lying about, so no need to brush up on flint knapping skills. Pournelle and Niven’s “Lucifers Hammer” is a pretty good guide.

@stranger_in_a_strange_land Lucifers Hammer is a great take on the end of the world as we know it!

I would eat the local wildlife in the national park that I live in…. oh I would eat the wild strawberry’s and raspberries…

Yep. I like to think I would even thrive.

@YoBob GA and I feel the same way. Less is more!

@Cruiser It’s not so much less is more. It’s a matter of practical skills, being able to separate perceived from real needs, and understanding that people have been solving the same basic problems since the beginning of time and some of the almost forgotten low tech solutions yield results very similar to the modern way of doing things.

For example, my grandmother could feed a crew of 20 using nothing more advanced than a good knife, mixing bowl, spoon, and cast iron skillet. Plus she could have things cleaned up before most can disassemble their food processors and load their dishwashers. It’s not that food processors and dishwashers aren’t nice, but they really don’t bring as much more to the party than having good knife skills and knowing what to do with basic ingredients and equipment at hand.

Don’t just survive… thrive!

I think one of the survival skills often overlooked is that of organization. I don’t mean the a-place-for-everything-and-everything-in-it’s-place type of organization, but social organization. The best leaders who would arise in a post-apocalyptic scenario would be those who could see how each individual’s talents could best contribute to the survival of the group.