Somewhere in New York City there is a group of scenesters trotting around, acting like they live in the Pleistocene. They all have normal jobs, of course, they all make money and live in Manhattan apartments and poop indoors, but they try to make the rest of their lives as similar to our early human ancestors as possible.

They say it’s more natural, this way. They eat a diet of unprocessessed food, mostly raw grains, beans and vegetables but occasionally raw fish and meat. They run every day and stay active as much as possible, avoiding long periods of sedentism and denying themselves televisions and addictive electronic activities. They are the neo-cave people, those who are taking the concept of being “au natural” to the max. (Although I hear they still get to eat sushi.)

This might seem extreme, but in it lies something a lot of Americans—as well as the world—are grappling with in this age of strange technologies and new patterns of living.

What is natural for humans? Based on how we evolved, what is the best way to live?

A little explanation: Most of our physical evolution took place before the advent of agriculture. Then, humans lived in small tribes and mainly subsisted on hunting and gathering. We spent roughly six hours a day searching for food; the rest of the time was spent interacting, talking, goofing off, creating culture, sleeping, etc.

Even after the advent of agriculture, we were still very active and ate fairly wholesome diets.

But the last hundred or so years has turned that completely on its head; with the rise of technology and the necessity of its use in most employments, humans are spending much more time absorbed in screens and much less time roaming around. In order to feed an ever-expanding population (which, of course, hasn’t been an issue until recently), we have begun to process the wazoo out of our foods. Where lunch used to be a handful of nuts and some native tubers, now it is not uncommon to eat fried flavored cornmeal (chips, crackers) and some kind of corn-sugar beverage (Coke, Coke Zero, Diet Coke, Cherry Coke, Diet Coke with Lime, Cherry Coke Zero, rum and Coke).

Sitting around, eating junk food—it is clear that this not “natural” for humans. And we’ve begun to realize this, started building computer desks that allow you to stand upright and started marketing lines of food that are vegan and unprocessed. The New York Times has been running articles about the perils of technology overuse on our brains, citing that studies have shown that being constantly occupied with Facebooks and You Tubes is depriving our brains of much-needed downtime. Those who simply take moments to breathe during the day, away from the pressures of being constantly online, are more able to commit new experiences to memory and report being less stressed than their plugged-in counterparts.

But really, what is natural? Is it any less natural for humans to want to expand their providence by use of technology? To sacrifice some memory for the chance to be constantly interacting and learning on our Blackberry internets? Is it less natural to want to feed a population on a cheap diet of corn and dietary supplements? Or is it better to be neo-cave people, jogging the streets of New York in search of fresh wild salmon and a head of broccoli?

I’m not sure. Maybe we are asking the wrong questions. Maybe, instead of trying to look back into our ancient histories and discover what worked back then, we need to figure out what is healthy for us now.

Certainly that isn’t industrial agriculture, and certainly not 36-hour videogame sprints. But modern life is with us. Instead of harkening back to find some kind of “naturalness,” I believe we should focus on discovering what is best for us now. We should take a moment to figure out what our bodies want (some exercise, good food, rest from stimulus) and also what is necessary for our new, 21st century societies—namely, involvement in new, engrossing technologies.

It’s a question we will constantly grapple with as our lifestyles continue to change. What is natural and healthy? What is normal for human beings? Is anything normal and natural for us, or are we infinitely adaptable?
Or we could surrender and all become sexy neo-cave people. Unagi roll, anyone?