Final answer:
No, there was likely no flu season during the Paleolithic era pre-10,000 BCE due to the low population density of humans at that time, which did not support the sustained transmission of influenza viruses. The rise of towns and cities provided the conditions necessary for flu viruses to survive and spread.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question asks whether there was a flu season in prehistoric times, specifically during the Paleolithic era, which predates 10,000 BCE.
Influenza is an airborne infectious disease that tends to show seasonal patterns which are influenced by factors such as immunity, climate, and population density.
In prehistoric times, specifically the Paleolithic era, human population density was too low to support the sustained transmission of viruses that cause diseases like influenza.
Therefore, it is highly unlikely that there was a flu season as we experience today.
This premise is supported by historical observations indicating that pathogenic microbes such as the influenza virus needed larger, more densely populated human settlements to survive and spread.
The seasonal patterns of diseases like the flu, which became more pronounced with the advent of towns and cities, are largely a result of changes in human behavior and environmental conditions.
The close quarters in which people lived in medieval towns, coupled with changes in climate causing food scarcity and malnutrition, made these populations more vulnerable to epidemic diseases, a condition that did not exist during the Paleolithic era.
The pandemics of the past demonstrate the relationship between human social organization and the spread of infectious diseases.
In contrast, the sparse population and nomadic lifestyle characteristic of Paleolithic societies were unsuitable for the survival and transmission of viruses like influenza.