Paleolithic Art Part II

Gothrey made several connections between humans of today and those of the past. His reasoning behind such comparisons was that patterns seen today in man often are similar to patterns of the past. Although such a comparison is questionable due to climate change affecting culture and the expanse of time that separates historic from prehistoric, human psychology probably doesn't change much. Gothrey mentioned how we share many characteristics of behavior with apes of today. A comparison to the past with the present is the only way we can make inferences about Paleolithic human culture.
I find Gothrey's connection between Polynesian changing lifestyles and that of Paleolithic Man. When the Polynesians migrated from island to island until reaching New Zealand, they were primarily a mixed economy of horticulture, small game, and fishing. However, when subjected to the colder climate of New Zealand, normal crops would't grow, and fishing resources weren't the same in the cool waters surrounding the islands. With the added fact that the ecosystem had not had a top predator for millions of years, animals were vulnerable and the invading settlers quickly became hunters of large game. What is fascinating is that they returned to making paintings of their game just like the Paleolithic cro-magnon did. This makes me wonder if there is some innate hunter in each of us through behavioral genetics when we revert to ancient practices of survival.
In addition, Gothrey said that Pleistocene Cro Magnon were larger than their Holocene progeny. This was due to higher fertility and offspring production, placing more pressure on resources. Food was not as nutritious or sufficient for producing larger humans. Interestingly, humans now are much larger than their ancestors (Pleistocene or Holocene), and they generally have better nutrition than those ancestors.
A passing remark was made by Gothrey about the state of overuse of resources and the ecological imprint we are making now. Cro magnon supposedly could not create as large of an impact because of their small numbers and obligatory nomadism because of their hunter-gatherer lifestyle. Sanitation was not very good either; when the switch was made from nomadic to village life, disease spread more easily. I wonder how the rate of disease in nomads of today compares to more sedentary peoples.