Pre-Historic Medicine Flashcards
Briefly describe medical treatments in Pre-Historic medicine
Trephining; drilled holes into people’s heads to remove evil spirits if people had headaches etc
Medicine men - dealt with evil spirits
Medicine women - used herbs to heal people (herbal remedies)
What did pre-historic people die from?
Warfare
Pregnancy and childbirth
Infection
Famine and food shortages
What was the life expectancy of hunter-gatherers?
Around 19-25
Why was keeping on the move helpful in pre-historic medicine?
Avoids some diseases
There are no polluted water supplies or piles of man screens to attract disease - carrying insects because do not stay in one place long enough
What was the Life expectancy of farmers in Pre-Historic medicine?
Around 20-27
Who would you go to for help in Pre-Historic medicine for natural causes,
Family, probably the women who had learned remedies from their own mothers
What did Hunter-Gathers think caused illnesses.. How did they try prevent?
Evil spirits
Wore charms round their necks given to them by the groups medicine man
How were farmers different to hunter-gathered in terms of injuries?
Farmers suffered fewer injuries and accidents than hunters but lots of hard physical work meant men and women suffered from painful joints and bones
Animals also polluted water supplies
Around 10,000 BC people developed a different lifestyle. What was this?
Settling in one place and farming the land, growing crops and keeping herds of animals
What were some examples of Injuries that had natural causes?
Accidents, hunting or war wounds, hunger, ailments such as fever
How do we know about pre-historic medicine?
- Archaeological evidence from skeletons tell us about simple surgery about the height of people and the age they died
- People who continued to live in the same way as their ancestors. Hunger-gathered and farmers in Australia. Africa and America did not need to change their wats of life because they were well-suited to their environments and produced plenty of food
How were fevers, pain and lung complaints treated in Pre-Historic medicine?
Were treated with steam
Sweat lodges were used all over North America
What were common remedies used for injuries that had natural causes in Pre-Historic? Why did these cures work?
Herbs, plants, minerals and animal parts
Worked because the ingredients included chemicals which acted as antiseptics to combat infection or as anaesthetic but they didn’t know that
How were cuts and wounds treated and how were broken bones treated?
Cuts and wounds; plants; Aboriginals covered cuts with sphagnum moss
Broken bones and cuts were covered with mud, clay or animal fat and the. Bound up with feathers, animal sing or tree bark
How were people with colds and coughs treated and what about people with fevers?
Colds and coughs; breathed in the vapour from crushed tea-tree leaves boiled in water
Fevers; bathed in tea-tree
