History Notes (Greece, Rome, Egypt, Prehistoric Medicine)
Prehistoric Medicine
Prehistoric people were hunter-gatherers. They lived in small groups and constantly moved around the country seeking out the best conditions for shelter and food supplies. In order to explain the many things in the world they could not otherwise understand, they believed in spirits.
Prehistoric medicine
Medicine was extremely basic and what treatments there were reflected their close relationship to nature and their superstition about spirits. Though prehistoric people had very little idea of how the body worked treatments included:
* simple cures using medicinal herbs.
* setting broken limbs.
* blaming evil spirits for disease.
* employing 'medicine men' whom they believed wielded power over spirits.
* practising trepanning to release evil spirits.
How do we know about what life was like so long ago?
There were no written records available at this time, so we have to rely on the findings of archaeologists.
Archaeologists have studied skeletons from prehistoric times (including ones found individually and those found in large tombs) and well-preserved bodies found in peat bogs. Cave paintings can also give evidence of what life was like.
The study of skeletons and preserved bodies can yield the following evidence: what sorts of diseases prehistoric people suffered from what condition their bones and teeth were in whether physical work or warfare caused death or deformity what they ate for their last meal how old they were when they died.
Archaeologists have found some evidence that suggests what the beliefs of prehistoric people were. Cave paintings give clues about what people thought caused some diseases. Other evidence, such as charms, provide further clues about these beliefs.
To confirm their ideas, historians have talked to groups of people, such as some Aborigines in Australia, whose lifestyles have not changed for thousands of years. By examining their beliefs and practices we can get an insight into
Prehistoric people were hunter-gatherers. They lived in small groups and constantly moved around the country seeking out the best conditions for shelter and food supplies. In order to explain the many things in the world they could not otherwise understand, they believed in spirits.
Prehistoric medicine
Medicine was extremely basic and what treatments there were reflected their close relationship to nature and their superstition about spirits. Though prehistoric people had very little idea of how the body worked treatments included:
* simple cures using medicinal herbs.
* setting broken limbs.
* blaming evil spirits for disease.
* employing 'medicine men' whom they believed wielded power over spirits.
* practising trepanning to release evil spirits.
How do we know about what life was like so long ago?
There were no written records available at this time, so we have to rely on the findings of archaeologists.
Archaeologists have studied skeletons from prehistoric times (including ones found individually and those found in large tombs) and well-preserved bodies found in peat bogs. Cave paintings can also give evidence of what life was like.
The study of skeletons and preserved bodies can yield the following evidence: what sorts of diseases prehistoric people suffered from what condition their bones and teeth were in whether physical work or warfare caused death or deformity what they ate for their last meal how old they were when they died.
Archaeologists have found some evidence that suggests what the beliefs of prehistoric people were. Cave paintings give clues about what people thought caused some diseases. Other evidence, such as charms, provide further clues about these beliefs.
To confirm their ideas, historians have talked to groups of people, such as some Aborigines in Australia, whose lifestyles have not changed for thousands of years. By examining their beliefs and practices we can get an insight into