I have always been fascinated by Man's efforts to treat the health of animals in the wild. After a well placed dart, they measure, treat wounds, inject vitamins or other health aids, and when the animal awakes, he is a new "man". It got me thinking about if we could travel back to stone-age times and do the same with the people living then. I found a few links on the subject of Pre-Historic deseases, and the Discovery series "I Caveman". See the Caveman Dr.......sign up for "Flintstone Care"!
I don't know about going back to the prehistoric time when they might not even speak as we do today. Life was so primitive, life was so short and life was so precarious with very big carnivores that attacks and eats a lot. Though your feeling to help the prehistoric cave people is commendable, it's not too feasible for us to go back in time when life had no hospitals, care givers or modern medicine to help the helper give help too. My Mom is a big fan of Little House on the Prairie, I would not like to return to that time either...I don't even use the modern outhouses they have now...no flushing no thanks! They didn't even have microwave ovens let alone toaster ovens...I like today.
The old days with an inside loo and a hoover - Heaven, in fact the 60s had enough mod cons for me to be happy
Living then would have been like being on a 25 to 40 year episode of "Survivor"! "The life expectancy in prehistoric times was low, 25–40 years, with men living longer than women; archaeological evidence of women and babies found together suggests that many women would have died in childbirth, perhaps accounting for the lower life expectancy in women than men. Another possible explanation for the shorter life spans of prehistoric humans may be malnutrition; also, men as hunters may have sometimes received better food than the woman, who would consequently have been less resistant to disease".
Health through history the bodies found of our ancestors showed that they had some of the problems we have today like arthritis and plugged arteries but they died of disease mainly cause by sanitation and bad water. Now we have good sanitation and controlling a lot of diseases with antibiotics we are dying of chronic ailments.
Yeah, Kristina can you imagine having to wear those long dresses all the time to do everything also..? Geez no Thank You. As much as we complain about today's world, we have it so easy compared to the pre historic people and the pioneers. Personally, I think air conditioning is one of the greatest marvels. I can't imagine living without it. We are so comfortable now...it is awesome!
As time travelers, we would be visiting, not living there. We would be the ultimate EMTs, stopping by to administer medical aid. It would be the ultimate "House call".
There was no concept of public health in prehistoric times "Public health focuses on preventing the spread of disease, good hygiene practices, the provision of water so that people can keep themselves, their animals and their homes clean. Medical historians are fairly sure that prehistoric peoples had no concept of public health. They tended to move around a lot and not remain in one place for long, therefore, there would have been no need or thought towards building public health infrastructure". "During pre-history, people were afflicted with ailments and diseases, just like we are today. However, because of very different lifestyles and lifespans, they did not suffer from the same diseases so commonly". "Below are some diseases and conditions which were probably very common in prehistoric times: Osteoarthritis - many people had to lift and carry large and heavy object frequently. According to archeological remains, osteoarthritis was common. Micro-fractures of the spine and spondylolysis - large rocks were commonly dragged over long distances. Hyper-extension and torque of the lower back - caused by the transport and raising of massive rocks and stones, such as Latte Stones". "Infections and complications - people were hunter gatherers and were much more likely to suffer cuts, bruises and bone fractures. There were no modern antibiotics, vaccines, antiseptics, and most likely no knowledge of bacteria, viruses, funguses and other harmful pathogens and the impact of good hygiene practices in preventing infection complications. Infections were much more likely to become serious and life-threatening, while contagious diseases used to spread rapidly and turn into epidemics easily. Rickets - anthropologists have evidence that rickets was widespread throughout most prehistoric communities, probably due to low vitamin D levels".
I am totally surprised about the rickets in pre-historic people, @Joe Riley . We always think of them as barely clothed and running around out in the sunshine, where they would have gotten loads of vitamin D. I could see maybe something like scurvy, or one of the other vitamin shortages; but I sure thought they got lots of the Sunshine Vitamin. Maybe they hid in caves a lot and only came out when the sun was not so bright ?
Stone Age amputee proves Neolithic medics more advanced than previously thought. "Evidence of surgery carried out nearly 7,000 year ago has emerged – suggesting our Stone Age ancestors were more medically advanced than first thought". "Early Neolithic surgeons used a sharpened flint to amputate the left forearm of an elderly man, scientists have discovered". The amputee lived in the Linearbandkeramik period, when European hunter-gatherers began subsistence farmingPhoto: HULTON
The "news"/ what is thought and published/ about so-called 'pre-historic' is so farfetched, overall, ...
Stone Age Medicine (link) Rosemary is a medicinal herb that people may have used since prehistoric times. "In addition to assuming early humans self-medicated because many animals do, researchers have found natural remedies preserved at archaeological sites. Though we cannot know if the substances were deliberately administered for health, their abundance in association with human fossils and artifacts suggests this was the case". "In a 2019 Evolutionary Anthropology paper, archaeologist Karen Hardy analyzed plant species recovered from seven archaeological sites in the Near East, dating between about 8,000 and 790,000 years ago. During this span the region was occupied by Homo sapiens, Neanderthals and earlier forms of human ancestors. Of the 212 plant species identified, around 60 percent were medicinal and edible; they could have been used for food, medicine or both. Another 15 percent were non-edible, but may also have had curative properties in small doses". "In earlier work Hardy and colleagues studied molecules trapped in the fossilized dental plaque of ~50,000-year-old Neanderthals from the site of El Sidrón, Spain. In one female specimen with a tooth abscess, the team identified compounds that likely came from from yarrow and chamomile, bitter plants with little nutritional value, but known for their medicinal properties". (Read more)