Nasty, Brutish and Tall

There is a book I've been meaning to read about human pre-history that closely tracks this Economist article. Basically, pre-agricultural people were more violent (but taller) than early agriculturalists. I find the Genesis story of Cane and Abel an interesting parallel to this thinking. Abel was the agriculturalist and Cane the carnivore. In any event, with all the hand wringing over supposed anthropomorphic global warming and other doomsayers, this is a nice bit of persepective. One of the most conservative statements in pop culture is also the most true to paraphrase Roseanne, Roseanne O'Dana, Whether its hunting out all the mega fauna and gettting killed so the fellas in the neighboring tribe can mate with your women, or kow towing to the local holder of water rights so you can live on a feast or famine diet that leaves you malnourished and subject to vitamin deficiency diseases, or driving around, well-fed at 70 miles an hour in airconditioned comfort, but the temperature may increase one degree every 100 years, its always something.