Prehistoric medicine: Difference between revisions

'''Prehistoric medicine''' is any use of [[medicine]] from before the [[invention]] of [[writing]] and the documented [[history of medicine]]. Because the timing of the invention of writing varies per [[culture]] and region, the term "prehistoric medicine" encompasses a wide range of time periods and dates.<ref name='OCR'>{{cite book |title=Medicine Through Time |lastlast1=Kelly |firstfirst1=Nigel |first2=Bob |last2=Rees |first3=Paul |last3=Shuter |year=2003 |publisher=[[Heinemann (publisher)|Heinemann]] |isbn=978-0-435-30841-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1qiFEQ1tAHQC&pgq=PA1prehistoric+medicine&lpgpg=PA1&dq=prehistoric+medicine}}</ref>

The study of [[Prehistory|prehistoric]] medicine relies heavily on [[Artifact (archaeology)|artifacts]] and [[Cadaver|human remains]], and on [[anthropology]]. Previously [[uncontacted peoples]] and certain [[indigenous peoples]] who live in a traditional way have been the subject of anthropological studies in order to gain insight into both contemporary and ancient practices.<ref name=WHO>{{cite web |title=Traditional Medicine |url=http://www.wpro.who.int/topics/traditional_medicine/en/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120625221136/http://www.wpro.who.int/topics/traditional_medicine/en/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 25, 2012 |publisher=[[World Health Organization]] |accessdateaccess-date=2015-12-30}}</ref>

DifferentSome diseases and ailments were more common in prehistory than they are today; there is evidence that many people suffered from [[osteoarthritis]], probably caused by the lifting of heavy objects which would have been a daily and necessary task in their societies.{{Citation needed|date=June 2008}} For example, the transport of [[latte stone]]s, though thisa practice only started during the neolithic era, which involved hyper extension and torque of the lower back, while dragging the stones, may have contributed to the development of micro fractures in the spine and subsequent [[spondylolysis]]. Things such as cuts, bruises, and breakages of bone, without antiseptics, proper facilities, or knowledge of germs, would become very serious if infected, as they did not have sufficient ways to treat infection.<ref>{{cite web | title = The History of Medicine, Pre-history | url = http://www.britishempire.co.uk/boniface/humanities/history/year10/prehistoric.htm |website=Student reference and support materials | publisher = [[St Boniface's College]] | accessdateaccess-date = 2009-02-19}}</ref>{{Unreliable source?|reason=This institution is a secondary school, not a full college.|date=December 2011}}

There is also evidence of [[rickets]], bone deformity and bone wastage ([[Osteomalaciaosteomalacia]]),<ref name='Short journey'>{{cite web | title = Babylon to Birmingham, A short journey through medicine to the end of the 18th Century | url = http://www.revolutionaryplayers.org.uk/babylon-to-birmingham/ |website=Revolutionary Players | date = 18 May 2015 | publisher=History West Midlands | accessdateaccess-date = 2015-12-30}}</ref> which is caused by a lack of [[Vitaminvitamin D]].

The life expectancy in prehistoric times was low, 25&ndash;40 years,<ref>{{cite book |author=Schools History Project |title=Medicine & Health Through Time: an SHP Development Study |url= |location= |publisher=[[Hodder Education]] |page= |date=26 September 1996 |isbn=978-0719552656}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web | title = Prehistoric Medicine | url = http://www.healthguidance.org/entry/6303/1/Prehistoric-Medicine.html | publisher = HealthGuidance.Org | accessdateaccess-date = 2009-02-19}}</ref>

== Treatments for diseasediseases ==

{{See also|History of pharmacy}}[[File:Rosmarino fiori.jpg|thumb|Herbs such as [[rosemary]] may have been used for medical purposes by prehistoric people.{{Which|date=October 2017}}<ref>{{cite book |title=Natural Soapmaking |last=Browning |first=Marie |publisher=[[Sterling Publishing]] |year=1999 |pages=128 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ow3cd7iJk-QC&pg=PA8&lpg=PA8&dqq=rosemary+used+by+prehistoric+people&pg=PA8 |isbn=978-0-8069-6289-4}}</ref>

<ref>{{cite web |title=Aboriginal Plant Use in SE Australia |url=http://www.anbg.gov.au/aborig.s.e.aust/s.e.a.mapkey.html |publisher=Australian Government, [[Australian National Botanic Gardens]] |accessdateaccess-date=2015-12-30 |deadurlurl-status=yesdead |archiveurlarchive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150513040433/http://www.anbg.gov.au/aborig.s.e.aust/s.e.a.mapkey.html |archivedatearchive-date=2015-05-13 |df= }}</ref>

<ref>{{cite web |title=Medical use of Spices |url=http://unitproj.library.ucla.edu/biomed/spice/index.cfm?spicefilename=medspice.txt&itemsuppress=yes&displayswitch=0 |publisher=[[UCLA]] Library, History and Special collections |accessdateaccess-date=2009-02-19}}</ref>]]

Plant materials ([[herbs]] and substances derived from [[natural source]]s)<ref>{{cite web |title=Use Of Spices As Medicines |url=http://unitproj.library.ucla.edu/biomed/spice/index.cfm?spicefilename=SpicesAsMeds.txt&itemsuppress=yes&displayswitch=0 |publisher=[[UCLA]] Library, History and Special collections |accessdateaccess-date=2009-02-19}} Mentions spices being used by some prehistoric cultures</ref> were among the treatments for diseases in prehistoric cultures.{{Which|date=December 2011}}<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Samorini |first=Giorgio |date=2019-06-01 |title=The oldest archeological data evidencing the relationship of Homo sapiens with psychoactive plants: A worldwide overview |url=https://akjournals.com/view/journals/2054/3/2/article-p63.xml |journal=Journal of Psychedelic Studies |language=en |volume=3 |issue=2 |pages=63–80 |doi=10.1556/2054.2019.008|doi-access=free }}</ref> Since plant materials quickly rot under most conditions, historians are unlikely to fully understand which species were used in prehistoric medicine. A speculative view can be obtained by researching the climate of the respective society and then checking which species continue to grow in similar conditions today<ref>{{cite book |last=Lock |first=Robin |title=Plants of the Humid Tropics Biome |year=2002 |publisher=Eden Project books |pages=128 |isbn=978-1-90391913-2}}</ref> and through anthropological studies of existing indigenous peoples.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |last=Moerman |first=Daniel E. |encyclopedia=Native American Medicinal Plants: an ethnobotanical dictionary |publisher=[[Timber Press]] |year=2009 |place=Portland, OR / London |isbn=978-0-88192-987-4}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Native American Herbal Remedies |url=http://www.powersource.com/cherokee/herbal.html |website=Cherokee Messenger |publisher=Cherokee Cultural Society of Houston |year=1996 |accessdateaccess-date=2009-02-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110723181953/http://www.powersource.com/cherokee/herbal.html |archive-date=2011-07-23 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The effects of different plant materials could have been found through trial and error.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/history/shp/ancient/prehistoriccivilisationrev1.shtml |title=BBC - GCSE Bitesize, Prehistoric Civilisation |author=Schools History Project |date= |website=GCSE Bitesize |publisher=[[BBC]] |access-date= |quote=They have done this through a process of trial and error and natural selection.}}</ref>{{unreliable source?|date=December 2015}} Gathering and dispensing of plant materials was in most cultures handled by women, who cared for the health of their family.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.healthy.net/Health/Article/An_Outline_of_The_History_of_Herbalism_An_Overview_and_Literature_Resource_List/901 |title=Herbal Medicine: An Outline of The History of Herbalism An Overview and Literature Resource List |last1=Hobbs |first1=Christopher |date= |website=healthy.net |date=6 December 2000 |publisher=HealthWorld Online |access-date=December 30, 2015 |quote=... women prepared food and healing potions--women generally practiced herbalism on a day to day basis, taking care of the ills of other members of the family or tribal unit}}</ref> Plant materials were an important cure for diseases throughout history.<ref name='HistoryWorld'>{{cite web |url=http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=aa52 |title=Primitive Medicine |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date= |website=HistoryWorld |access-date=December 30, 2015 |quote=}}</ref> This fund of knowledge would have been passed down orally through the generations.

The ''[[Piptoporus betulinus|birch polypore]]'' fungus, commonly found in alpine environments, may have been used as a laxative by prehistoric peoplespeople living in Northern Europe, since it is known to bring on short bouts of diarrhoea when ingested, and was found among the possessions of a mummified man.<ref name='Iceman'>{{cite news |last=Wilford |first=John Noble |date=December 8, 1998 |title=Lessons in Iceman's Prehistoric Medicine Kit |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9502E3DD173AF93BA35751C1A96E958260 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |location=New York |access-date=December 30, 2015}}</ref>

Earths and [[clays]] may have provided prehistoric peoples with some of their first medicines. This is related to [[geophagy]], which is extremely widespread among animals in the wild as well as among domesticated animals. In particular, geophagy is widespread among contemporary non-human primates.<ref>{{cite journal |lastlast1=Krishnamani |firstfirst1=R. |last2=Mahaney |first2=William C. |year=2000 |title=Geophagy among primates: Adaptive significance and ecological consequences |url= |journal=[[Animal Behaviour (journal)|Animal Behaviour]] |volume=59 |issue= 5|pages=899–915 |doi=10.1006/anbe.1999.1376|pmid=10860518 |s2cid=43702331 }}</ref> Also, early humans could have learned about the use of various [[healing clay]]s by observing animal behaviour. Such clay is used both internally and externally, such as for treating wounds, and after surgery (see below).{{Citation needed|date=August 2009}} Geophagy, and the external use of clay are both still quite widespread among aboriginal peoples around the world, as well as among pre-industrial populations.

''[[Trepanning]]'' (sometimes ''Trephining'') was a basic [[surgical operation]] in which a hole was drilled or scraped into the skull. It was carried out in prehistoric societies across the world,<ref name='Neuro' /><ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1097/00006123-199907000-00033 |vauthors=Piek J, Lidke G, Terberger T, von Smekal U, Gaab MR |title=Stone age skull surgery in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern: a systematic study |journal=[[Neurosurgery (journal)|Neurosurgery]] |volume=45 |issue=1 |pages=147–51; discussion 151 |date=July 1999 |pmid=10414577 |url=http://meta.wkhealth.com/pt/pt-core/template-journal/lwwgateway/media/landingpage.htm?issn=0148-396X&volume=45&issue=1&spage=147}} A small but informative text</ref> although evidence shows a concentration of the practice in [[Peru]].<ref name="HistoryWorld"/><ref name='Neuro'>{{cite web |title=Pre-Columbian Trephination |url=http://www.neurosurgery.org/cybermuseum/pre20th/treph/trephination.html |website=NEUROSURGERY://ON-CALL/Cyber Museum of Neurosurgery |publisher=[[American Association of Neurological Surgeons]] and [[Congress of Neurological Surgeons]] |accessdateaccess-date=2009-02-19 |archive-date=2018-10-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181020221923/http://www.neurosurgery.org/cybermuseum/pre20th/treph/trephination.html |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.uic.edu/classes/osci/osci590/6_2Trephination.htm |title=Trephination, An Ancient Surgery |author= |date= |website=UIC Oral Sciences OSCI 590: Hominid Evolution, Dental Anthropology, and Human Variation |publisher=[[University of Illinois at Chicago]] |access-date=December 30, 2015 |quote=In Peruvian practice there is considerable evidence that many of the operations were performed for the naturalistic purpose of removing a bone fragment ... and trephination undertaken as a supernatural curative procedure by shamans (sancoyoc) with little technical ability as surgeons. |deadurlurl-status=yesdead |archiveurlarchive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303170855/http://www.uic.edu/classes/osci/osci590/6_2Trephination.htm |archivedatearchive-date=March 3, 2016 |df= }}</ref> Several theories question the reasoning behind trepanning; it could have been used to cure certain conditions such as [[headache]]s and [[epilepsy]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.brain-surgery.com/history.html |title=History of Brain Surgery |last1=Siegfried |first1=Juliette |date= |website=Brain-Surgery.com |access-date=December 30, 2015 |quote=}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Osler |first=Sir William |date=1922 |title=The Evolution of Modern Medicine: A Series of Lectures Delivered at Yale University on the Silliman Foundation in April, 1913 |series=Silliman memorial lectures |url=http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=chi.16616738;view=1up;seq=30 |location=New Haven |publisher=[[Yale University Press]] |pages=6–9 |isbn=}} See the section "Origin Of Medicine"</ref>. There is evidence discovered of bone tissue surrounding the surgical hole partially grown back, so therefore survival of the procedure did occur at least on occasion.<ref name='HistoryWorld' />

[[File:Yupik shaman Nushagak.jpg|thumb|[[Yup'ik people|Yup'ik]] [[shaman]] exorcising evil spirits from a sick boy.<ref>{{cite book |last=Fienup-Riordan |first=Ann |authorlinkauthor-link=Ann Fienup-Riordan |title=Boundaries and Passages: Rule and Ritual in Yup'ik Eskimo Oral Tradition |location=Norman, OK |publisher=[[University of Oklahoma Press]] |year=1994 |isbn=978-0-585-12190-1}}</ref>]]

''[[Medicine man|Medicine men]]'' (also witch-doctors, shamans) maintained the health of their tribe by gathering and distributing herbs, performing minor surgical procedures,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.encounter.co.za/article/7.html |title=Mysteries of Africa |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date= |website=Encounter South Africa |publisher=Encounter Magazine |access-date=December 30, 2015 |quotearchive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304233458/http://www.encounter.co.za/article/7.html |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |url-status=dead }} Stories of Medicine Men in Africa</ref> providing medical advice, and [[Magic (paranormal)|supernatural treatments]] such as charms, spells, and [[amulet]]s to ward off evil spirits.<ref>{{cite book |last=Ackerknecht |first=Erwin Heinz |orig-year=1955 |date=1982 |title=A Short History of Medicine |edition=Johns Hopkins Paperbacks |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Btx3M5t6lDEC&pg=PA8&lpg=PA8&dqq=prehistoric+medicine#PPA13,M1A&pg=PA8 |location=Baltimore |publisher=[[Johns Hopkins University Press]] |page= |isbn=978-0-8018-2726-6}}</ref> In [[Apache]] society, as would likely have been the case in many others, the medicine men initiate a ceremony over the patient, which is attended by family and friends. It consists of magic formulas, prayers, and drumming. The medicine man then, from patients' recalling of their past and possible offenses against their religion or tribal rules, reveals the nature of the disease and how to treat it.

They were believed by the tribe to be able to contact spirits or gods and use their supernatural powers to cure the patient, and, in the process, remove evil spirits. If neither this method nor trepanning worked, the spirit was considered too powerful to be driven out of the person.{{Citation needed|date=September 2009}} Medicine men would likely have been central figures in the tribal system, because of their medical knowledge and because they could seemingly contact the gods. Their religious and medical training were, necessarily, [[Oral tradition|passed down orally]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bri.net.au/medicine.html |title=Healing Secrets of Aboriginal Bush Medicine |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date= |website= |publisher=Big River Internet |access-date=December 30, 2015 |quote=Trained from an early age by their elders and initiated into the deepest of tribal secrets... |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190306075819/http://www.bri.net.au/medicine.html |archive-date=March 6, 2019 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The earliest example of a drilled and filled in tooth dates back to 13,000 years ago in Italy where a tooth was filled with a mix of bitumen, hair and plant fiber. <ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/2127300-oldest-tooth-filling-was-made-by-an-ice-age-dentist-in-italy/ | title=Oldest tooth filling was made by an Ice Age dentist in Italy }}</ref>
Archaeologists in [[Mehrgarh]] in [[Balochistan (Pakistan)|Balochistan]] province in the present day [[Pakistan]] discovered that the people of [[Indus Valley Civilizationcivilization]] from the early [[Harappa]]n periods (c. {{circa|3300 BC}}) had knowledge of medicine and [[dentistry]]. The [[Physical anthropology|physical anthropologist]] who carried out the examinations, Professor Andrea Cucina from the [[University of Missouri]], made the discovery when he was cleaning the teeth from one of the men. Later research in the same area found evidence of teeth having been drilled dating to 7,000 B.C.EBCE.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4882968.stm |work=BBC News |title=Stone age man used dentist drill |date=2006-04-06 |accessdateaccess-date=2010-05-22}}</ref>

There is no written evidence whichthat can be used for investigation into the prehistoric period of history by definition. Historians must use other sources such as [[Cadaver|human remains]] and anthropological studies of societies living under similar conditions. A variety of problems arise when the aforementioned sources are used.

Human remains from this period are rare and many have undoubtedly been destroyed by burial rituals or made useless by damage.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.kented.org.uk/ngfl/subjects/history/medhist/page9_pkent.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081202061022/http://www.kented.org.uk/ngfl/subjects/history/medhist/page9_pkent.html |archive-date=December 2, 2008 |title=Prehistoric Medicine In Kent |last1=Coulson |first1=Ian |date= |website=The History of Health and Medicine in Kent |publisher=Kent County Council |access-date=December 30, 2015 |quote=It is a matter of luck because only some skeletons survive}}</ref><ref>[[WP:CIRCULAR]] [[Ötzi the Iceman#Body|Wikipedia's Ötzi the Iceman Article]] '..three or four of his right ribs had been squashed when he had been lying face down after death, or where the ice had crushed his body.'</ref>{{Circular reference|date=May 2021}} The most informative archaeological evidence are [[mummies]], remains which have been preserved by either freezing or in [[peat bog]]s;<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.mydigiguide.com/tv-guide/tv.dll|archiveurlarchive-url=https://archive.today/20120913114114/http://www.mydigiguide.com/tv-guide/tv.dll?a=6&h=49&PID=23519|deadurlurl-status=yesdead|title=myDigiGuide: The Best UK TV Guide|website=www.mydigiguide.com|access-date=2019-07-21|archive-date=2012-09-13}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Malam |first=John |date=2001 |title=Secret Worlds: Mummies, and the Secrets of Ancient Egypt |series=Megabites |url= |location=https://archive.org/details/mummiessecretsof0000mala |publisher=[[Dorling Kindersley|DK Children]] |page= |isbn=978-0-78947976-1 |url-access=registration }}</ref> no evidence exists to suggest that prehistoric people mummified the dead for religious reasons, as [[Ancient Egypt]]ians did. These bodies can provide scientists with subjects' (at the time of death): weight, illnesses, height, diet, age, and bone conditions,<ref>[[WP:CIRCULAR]] [[Mummy Juanita#Identity|Wikipedia's Article on the Mummy Juanita]]</ref>{{Circular reference|date=May 2021}} which grant vital indications of how developed prehistoric medicine was.

Not technically classed as 'written evidence', prehistoric people left many kinds of paintings, using paints made of minerals such as lime, clay and charcoal, and brushes made from feathers, animal fur, or twigs on the walls caves. Although many of these paintings are thought to have a spiritual or religious purpose,<ref>{{cite book |first1=Anita |last1=Ganeri |first2=Hazel Mary |last2=Martell |first3=Brian |last3=Williams |date=2007 |title=World History Encyclopedia: A Complete and Comprehensive Guide to the History of the World |url= https://archive.org/details/worldhistoryency0000gane_b5s5|locationurl-access=registration |publisher=[[Parragon]] |page= |isbn=978-1-40549120-4}}</ref> there have been some, such as a man with antlers (thought to be a medicine man), which have revealed some part of prehistoric medicine. Many cave paintings of human hands have shown missing fingers (none have been shown without thumbs), which suggests that these were cut off for sacrificial or practical purposes, as is the case among the [[Pygmies]] and [[Khoikhoi]].<ref>{{cite journal |author=Janssens PA |title=Medical Views on Prehistoric Representations of Human Hands |journal=[[Medical History (journal)|Med Hist]] |volume=1 |issue=4 |pages=318–22 |date=October 1957 |pmid=13476920 |pmc=1034309 |doi=10.1017/s0025727300021499 }} Pages 318–21 are of particular interest in this subject</ref>

The writings of certain cultures (such as the Romans) can be used as evidence in discovering how their contemporary prehistoric cultures practiced medicine. People who live a similar nomadic existence today have been used as a source of evidence too, but obviously, there are distinct differences in the environments in which nomadic people lived; prehistoric people who once lived in [[Great Britain|Britain]] for example, cannot be effectively compared to aboriginal peoples in [[Australia]], because of the geographical differences.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.educationforum.co.uk/prehistoricmedicine.htm |title=Prehistoric Medicine |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|title=Prehistoric Medicine|url=http://www.educationforum.co.uk/prehistoricmedicine.htm|access-date=5 April 2021|website=History GCSE / History of Medicine Lessons |publisher=Education Forum |access-date=December 2015 |quote=}}</ref>

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