Transcript Prehistoric Medicine

Before people wrote things down
To use evidence to find out about
prehistoric medicine
Tick the correct sentences
•Prehistoric people were nomadic
hunters
•
•An
area the size of Britain would only
contain a few thousand people
•Prehistoric people had a poor diet
•Human waste was easily got rid of and
people moved on before dirt and waste
had built up
•Prehistoric people could not
communicate
•People cooked meat over fires
•People lived in temporary shelters
•There was lots of clean water available
from streams and rivers
•The nomadic hunting lifestyle provided
people with plenty of exercise
•Prehistoric people were farmers
•There was no government and no one to
turn to outside the hunting band if
things went wrong
•Prehistoric people had poor teeth
•People knew a lot about plants
•Meet was usually plentiful as there was
many wild animals and so few people
•Berries, wild leaves and roots were
eaten as vegetables
•Prehistoric people drank alcohol
Tick the correct sentences
•Prehistoric people were nomadic
hunters
•An area the size of Britain would only
contain a few thousand people
•Prehistoric people had a poor diet
•Human waste was easily got rid of and
people moved on before dirt and waste
had built up
•Prehistoric people could not
communicate
•People cooked meat over fires
•People lived in temporary shelters
•There was lots of clean water available
from streams and rivers
•The nomadic hunting lifestyle provided
people with plenty of exercise
•Prehistoric people were farmers
•There was no government and no one to
turn to outside the hunting band if
things went wrong
•Prehistoric people had poor teeth
•People knew a lot about plants
•Meet was usually plentiful as there was
many wild animals and so few people
•Berries, wild leaves and roots were
eaten as vegetables
•Prehistoric people drank alcohol
Herbs
Weapons
Looking at the evidence
what can we suggest about
medicine in the prehistoric
period?
You have 10 minutes
Archaeological Report by F. Reynoldson
Prehistoric graves of men and women have
been found all over the world. Sometimes
there is evidence of trephining. This is when a
whole has been cut into a person’s skull.
Often the missing piece is buried with its
owner.
Update
Most trephined skulls have rounded edges
around the hole which shows that there has
been bone regrowth (the bone grew
afterwards).
Cave Paintings
•many have been found in France,
Spain, and as far as Chile.
•This picture is a famous painting
from a cave called, ‘The Three
Brothers’ in France.
•It is a man wearing the antlers of a
stag. He is dancing,
•What is the link between this
painting and prehistoric medicine?
Trepanning
Trepanning
What was trepanning?
(from Greek trupanon, borer) or trephining.
•This is maybe the most ancient form of
brain surgery known to man:
Just imagine:
•a hole of 2.5 to 5 cm of diameter, drilled by
hand into the skull of a living man
•without any anesthetics or antiseptics
during 30 to 60 long minutes
Why was trepanning done?
Theory 1: Dr. Prunieres 1865
Holes were made to become drinking cups
Theory 2: Professor Paul Broca 1876
Suggested operation was done on children. Those who lived
on had magical powers
Theory 4: E. Guiard 1930
Suggested trepanning was done to help illness e.g. broken
skulls, headaches and epilepsy.
Theory 3: Douglas Guthrie 1945
Suggested trepanning was done to let out evil spirits.
In fact, for some of these conditions, trepanning
shows a true therapeutic effect, and it is still used by
neurosurgeons.
The Tomb of Isbister
How healthy were people?
What caused sickness?
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How did they treat illness and
injury?
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What did they think caused
illness?
Who treated the sick?
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The evidence is
limited – the
Skeletons only
help us to answer
some not all
questions.
Bones may have
been damaged in
excavation. Is a
hole in the skull a
battle wound, the
excavator axe
when digging it up
or a operation?
Few sites contain
human bones.
The skeletons at Ibister may not be
typical of other prehistoric groups or all
the people at Ibister. They may be the
skulls of enemies.
It seems that
prehistoric people
left dead bodies in
the open so that
the flesh would rot
or be eaten by
birds.
Then the bones
were buried away
from human sites
Are there any people groups
which are still around in the
last two centuries that show
prehistoric type
behaviour/culture?
Aboriginal/prehistoric
person
Suffering from illness
Is the cause of the
illness obvious?
Yes
Common
Sense Cause
Problem 1
Broken Arm
Problem 2
Cut
Encase in clay
and dry in the
sun
Cover with
clay or animal
fat and bind
with bark
No
Spiritual Cause
Problem 1
Evil Spirit in
the body
Spirit must be
driven out of
the body using
charms
Problem 2
Spirit has left
the body
Spirit must be
returned to the
body. Spirit
must be found
on the end of a
pointing stick.