prehistoric medicine

Medicine that predates written records, evolving with the emergence of modern hominids over 2 million years ago. The study of prehistoric medicine is mainly dependent on sources such as skeletons, artefacts, and cave paintings, and draws heavily on anthropological studies of indigenous cultures in Asia, Australasia, Africa, and the Americas. Prehistoric people relied on a combination of religious beliefs and practical treatments made from local materials to treat their ailments. Their anatomical knowledge appeared to be very slight, and they believed that illnesses were caused by supernatural media, such as the gods or curses. Rational treatment was used only on obvious injuries, otherwise spiritual treatment was carried out by a shaman or medicine man, who received his medical ability through his relationship with the gods.

Spiritual treatments
The medicine man (witchdoctor) of each tribal group acted as a priest and doctor. Although he would have had a knowledge of rational treatments, he had no formal medical training. His power to heal came from personal contact with the gods, as he alone could channel their energies into curing a patient. If the medicine man's treatment failed, it was assumed that the spirit causing the illness was too strong.

It was also believed that medicine men had the ability to cause disease. A stick or bone given spiritual powers in a religious ritual could be pointed at an enemy to either place an evil spirit inside the body or to remove the victim's spirit. If the victim's spirit was removed then it became attached to the stick or bone used. To treat a spiritual illness that resulted from this sort of curse, the medicine man had to decide if the patient's spirit had been removed or if an evil spirit was in the body. If an evil spirit was present, the medicine man could use his contact with the gods to overpower it and either scare it away or force it to leave. If the patient's spirit had been removed, the medicine man would have to find the stick or bone to which it had been attached, and place the spirit back in the patient's body.

If an illness had no identifiable cause it was blamed on the gods or spirits. The surgical procedure of trepanning, cutting a hole in the skull with a stone or metal tool, was probably carried out to release an evil spirit trapped inside a patient's head. Medical conditions such as migraine or epilepsy may have resulted in trepanning. Many patients survived the procedure; trepanned skulls have been found with smooth edges to the hole, indicating that the bone started to grow back. Skulls with up to five holes have been found, with holes up to 5 cm/2 in in diameter. The removed bone was kept, and often worn as a lucky charm. At death, the bone was buried with the trepanned person to return their body to its full and intact state for the afterlife. Although trepanning was probably carried out for spiritual reasons with no understanding of the practical effect, modern doctors have found that the process can occasionally increase brain activity and reduce pressure around the brain.

Rational treatments
Prehistoric medicine included more practical or rational treatments when the cause of illness was obvious, such as a broken bone resulting from an accident. In order to protect the bone during healing, a broken arm or leg was covered in river clay or mud and the cast allowed to dry hard in the sun. Orchid bulbs were chewed for stomach problems. Cuts were treated using animal fat rubbed on the wound, with animal skin used for a bandage. Herbal remedies made out of local plants and animals were given or applied to wounds to aid healing. Treatments had to be based on local materials, as prehistoric people did not have the wider trade routes of later civilizations such as the ancient Egyptians and Greeks. A process of trial and error, as well as common sense, would lead to the adoption of a particular treatment. When an illness had an obvious cause, the gods were not seen to be responsible and, therefore, their aid was not needed to effect a cure.

Surgery
The anatomical knowledge of the prehistoric world was very limited. Cave paintings have shown that prehistoric peoples were aware of the heart and its location, but little else. Such anatomical observations would probably have been made when preparing animal carcasses for eating or during ritual sacrifice. Surgery, with the exception of trepanning, does not appear to have taken place.

Anthropological studies
Archaeologists and historians use cultural anthropology, studies of human culture and society, to gain insight into prehistoric medicine. In the Americas, Africa, Asia, and Australasia some groups have maintained a lifestyle similar to that of European prehistoric peoples into the 20th and, in some cases, the 21st centuries, and possible parallels can be drawn with their medical practices and those of early Europeans. Australian Aborigines were still living a nomadic prehistoric life when anthropologists began to study their society and culture in the 19th and 20th centuries. Observation of their medical practices, and other groups living deep in the Amazon rain forest or the jungles of Papua New Guinea, has helped to fill in many gaps in the understanding of prehistoric medicine. Australian Aborigines used to use death bones to point at and kill their enemies, while trepanned skulls have been found in Papua New Guinea. The Australian Aborigines also used rational treatments such as crushed eucalyptus leaves to relieve the nose and throat from blockages or the build up of mucus. Kangaroo skin was used to cover wounds. By combining evidence from the cultures of more modern peoples with the cave paintings, skeletons, and artefacts left by prehistoric peoples, historians are able to produce a clearer picture of medicine in the prehistoric world.