Prehistoric Medicine 3000 BC to AD 43.ppt

Prehistoric Medicine3000 BC to AD 43 The History of Medicine ? Boardworks Ltd 2004 * of 13 For more detailed instructions, see the Getting Started presentation. This icon indicates the slide contains activities created in Flash. These activities are not editable. How do we know? 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? 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. Medical knowledge and beliefs 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 life. Aboriginal beliefs and treatments Those Aborigines who still follow their traditional culture believe that everyone has their own spirit inside themselves. If a person becomes ill, it is because their spirit has left them, or an evil spirit has entered their body. To get treatment, Aborigines go to a Medicine Man who knows all about spirits. He puts his patient into a trance by singing and chanting and