I can't seem to find a definite answer about this in my searching. Any thoughts?

Well, I think there's too much debate on whether tubers should be considered paleo or not. If they were, they probably were eaten infrequently, like if they didn't have much luck with the hunt. So who knows!

Jicama is one of my favorite root veggies and I couldn't see myself giving it up for some silly reason. If it doesn't bother you then go for it!

There is no doubt that people ate tubers, as long as they were not poisonous. I have been putting Jicama slices in my salads this whole week! ANd I just maqde a beef stew using turnip, parsnips and carrots.

Ummm... I don't think so

I have not seen any evidence to show that paleo man ate tubers (only the opposite).

I don't consider any tubers to be paleo.

Really? you do no think that humans exploited every part of the edible plant? leaves, stems, buds, flowerd AND roots???

what evidence that tubers were not eaten did you discover???

Well, the H&G people's found in the last 100 years or so do eat tubers very frequently. It's probably an upper paleo more Mesolithic type of thing.

Finding evidence that tubers were *not* eaten would be quite a task, because, as I've said before (to someone else) on this forum you can't prove a negative about anything non-trivial in nature.

I do imagine they were eaten, just in limited quantities by most populations and not as a primary food source - I doubt enough could be found regularly to sustain a person without cultivating.

For what it's worth, I just dug up some wild tubers from the cutleaf toothwort plant while hiking today. Great garnish and can be eaten raw! I also dug up a spring beauty tuber but they are too small and tedious to collect in quantity and they need to be cooked.

Hey if I did it, then a caveman could do it!

As a side note though, wild tubers are very small and I doubt they were eaten in any great quantity.

Thanks everyone. I found a jicama at the grocery store and thought I'd give it a try. They are way tastier than I imagined raw. Cooked it was downright delightful (I threw a few thin slices in my bacon grease). I don't plan on eating them too much, but it is a really nice treat now and then. I can imagine they really add flavor and texture to salads.

it should be paleo but does it really matter? if it makes you feel good and you like it eat it.... i would eat something only if it makes you feel good not because its paleo or not. it just so happens that paleo makes most people feel good, but i wouldnt worry about, worrying does more harm than good.

" OH NO I ATE A NON PALEO FOOD TODAY!"

Congratulations on completely trivializing the effort lots of us put in to eat correctly...

no problem =]

That sounds like the kid with a bagful of Halloween candy diet

Apparently my buddy Tarlach has plenty of evidence that tubers were not eaten. But he's not sharing this info...yet. if he has convincing evidence to support his statement, I'm all ears.

Like I said, paleo man would have exploited every resource. that would include edible tubers. the only tubers that Cordain does not allow is potato, yam, sweet potato.

But tlike I said I am open to new ideas.

As you just quoted - you can't prove a negative. I have not ever found any evidence to show that paleo man ate tubers.

Why not go and do your own research and make your own decisions?

I have spend last three years studying the paleo diet and I'm quite happy with all of my conclusions. I don't have to make anyone else believe what I do.

You are quite happy to exclude tubers like potatoes, yams and sweet potato because Cordain says so, why would you even consider other tubers ok? They are all classified the same way for a reason.
The fact that potatoes are not edible raw is probably a good sign that paleo man did not evolve eating tubers, or we would not react so badly to them.

Jicama has 93% of it's calories as carbs. I can't see any reason why anyone would want to eat it, unless it was just because 'it tastes good'.

At lease mineralman can admit this is the reason. He's not keeping his carb addiction a secret.

Paleo man may not have exploited every resource as you put. He seemed to spend a lot more time and effort hunting than doing anything else (almost everyone can agree on this), indicating that meat and or fat was the number one priority.
It was only recently that man decided grains and tubers were foods worth farming and there is plenty of evidence to show that this is when mans health dropped significantly.

Paleo man was probably carnivorous by choice and maybe omnivorous by necessity...