The Old Man and the Sea: An alternate Story

I've been thinking about the basic elements of The Old Man and the Sea and I think that the novel could work if it had been written on land. Bear with me as I explain myself. The novel itself is a story of a man who is trying to provide for himself while he hunts to make a living. This easily could have been switched to an early time and had Santiago as a hunter. I could envision Santiago in an early time, perhaps during the Dark Ages, as a hunter/gatherer. While out hunting he could stumble upon a very large wild boar, one that would feed him and his families for weeks. He hits the boar with an arrow and it flees. He spends the next few days tracking it and he finally finds the boar's dead body. Several days from home he must transport the boar back home to his family. While hauling the boar with him a variety of creatures, birds, foxes, wolves, and insects help themselves to his haul. By the time he reaches home the corpse is rotted and mostly devoured rendering his great quest null and void. Perhaps in place of Santiago's injured hands he could have a bad leg that would prevent him from tracking the boar to his full potential. In place of Joe DiMaggio too could be a legendary hunter whom he looks up to or perhaps the God of the Hunt in his culture. The message of the novel is truly timeless and this has made me realize that the novel could work without the sea and still bear the same effect and weight. We won't ever know obviously I believe that had the novel taken place in an earlier period and taken place on land instead of at the sea we would have much the same novel as we had today. This is my take on the novel and how it could be converted to an entirely different, yet same, story.