Medicine Through Time Revision Series Session 2 Medicine in Prehistoric times

What held back Prehistoric medicine? Starter Use your prior learning to draw a spider diagram Why was there so little medical progress in Prehistoric times ? E.g. Government People lived in small tribes. No central government to make big decisions.

Starter

Use your prior learning to draw a spider diagram Why was there so little medical progress in Prehistoric times ?

E.g.

Government

People lived in small tribes.

No central government

to make big decisions.

What’s Prehistory Copy the keyword and it’s meaning: Prehistoric = something that happened before written records were kept. Bonus tasks Where do you think historians get their evidence from when examining prehistoric periods? What problems could we find with such evidence?

Copy the keyword and it’s meaning:

Prehistoric = something that happened before written records were kept.

Bonus tasks

Where do you think historians get their evidence from when examining prehistoric periods?

What problems could we find with such evidence?

How do we know about Prehistoric medicine? 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. What type of evidence do you think can be discovered from the study of skeletons?

Pickled evidence 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.

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.

How healthy were people in Prehistory? Copy the table below: You will use the information on the next slide to fill in your table Man Boy Woman Girl Did the treatment work? How was the illness treated? What was the illness/medical problem?

The Villagers at Isbister 3000 BC

Use your work to answer these Q’s Why do you think the life expectancy was so low 7000 years ago? Choose one of the illnesses/conditions form your table: describe how it would be treated today. How did they treat the sick? Who treated the sick? What did they think caused disease? Prehistoric Medicine

Why do you think the life expectancy was so low 7000 years ago?

Choose one of the illnesses/conditions form your table: describe how it would be treated today.

Features of health and medicine in Prehistoric times Government People lived in small tribes. No central government to make big decisions. Economy and Wealth People hunted for food. Only had just enough to survive on. Technology Only had primitive tools e.g. flints and arrow heads Religion Very important. Believed in supernatural – evil spirits caused disease. To cure illness, evil spirits must be removed. Communications No written language, so information could only be passed on by word of mouth. Only limited information could be passed on. Education No written language. No schools. Skills and ideas can only be taught by word of mouth.

Government

People lived in small tribes. No central government

to make big decisions.

Economy and Wealth

People hunted for food. Only had just enough to survive on.

Technology

Only had primitive tools e.g. flints and arrow heads

Religion

Very important. Believed in supernatural – evil spirits caused disease. To cure illness, evil spirits must be removed.

Communications

No written language, so information could only be passed on by word of mouth. Only limited information could be passed on.

Education

No written language. No schools. Skills and ideas can only be taught by word of mouth.

Extra information: add this to your mind map Who treated illness? Women were the primary carers. Medicine men “removed” evil spirits from the body. How were illnesses treated? Use of herbs. Use of magic charms to protect against evil spirits. Trephining (drilling a hole in the head) to remove evil spirits from the body.

Who treated illness?

Women were the primary carers. Medicine men “removed” evil spirits from the body.

How were illnesses treated?

Use of herbs. Use of magic charms to protect against evil spirits. Trephining (drilling a hole in the head) to remove evil spirits from the body.