Anthropologist Stanislav Drobyshevsky: why you don't need to envy ancient people

Is it true that primitive people did not live long, but died healthy? Or vice versa - they suffered from numerous diseases that led to death? Archaeological finds help us to imagine how it really was, and to separate facts from legends.

Anthropologist Stanislav Drobyshevsky told the forum "Scientists against myths" that science knows today about the life of the ancients. Recording lectures organizers — «ANTROPOGENESIS.RU- posted on their YouTube channel. And Lifehacker made a summary.

1. The ancients grew up fast and died young

Judging by the found skeletons and skulls, the average life expectancy of our ancestors was short.

Of the australopithecines found, the oldest is about 33 years old. He lived two and a half million years ago. Back then, people spent an average of only 12-15 years in this world. Yes, the ancestors had to grow up quickly and give birth early, otherwise they simply would not have survived.

A little later, life expectancy increased. Of the Heidelberg people we found, the oldest was about 35 years old. He died about 500 thousand years ago. At that time, the ancients had time to turn 14 to 21 years old.

The Cro-Magnons had been on the ground for much longer. Their era began about 50 thousand years ago. Anthropologists studied the skulls of the ancients, who turned 40-50 years old - that is, the Cro-Magnons could already live to old age.

But in all eras, unique characters could appear. They set records for longevity. So, in Dmanisi, archaeologists found the skull of a grandmother who was about 80 years old. In any case, the bones of her skull were in a condition that corresponds to such age.

Primitive people gave birth early and died not because they had time to go through a full cycle from birth to old age. But because in that environment, without full-fledged medicine and elementary living conditions, it was very difficult to live longer.

2. Ancestors could be stronger than us, but they also got sick

You might think that if the ancients died healthy, then their life was short, but beautiful. Yes, you can die not only from the disease. Many died because they stumbled, fell on stones, broke their skulls and limbs. Some were eaten by leopards or other predators. How wonderful such a life and death was - decide for yourself.

Some believe that the ancients had pearly teeth and strong bones, unlike ours. Perhaps it often happened, but it's not about rare health ancestors. If we come today to a village of Bushmen, Papuans or another tribe far from civilization, we will also see only healthy people. No, not because they don't get sick. It's just that the weaker ones didn't survive to this day. Died before. Natural selection has not been canceled.

The results of the excavations confirm that not all those who died at a young age were healthy. For example, archaeologists have found the skeleton of a Neanderthal child who lived only nine years. But the condition of his bones corresponds to the age of fifty.

The smile of the ancients was also not always snow-white - they were often tormented by caries. Scientists have found skulls with holes in their teeth. These holes appeared because the person was eating very sour fruits. It means that the teeth of those people also hurt, and very badly.

Cancer is not a new disease either. Oncological diseases do not appear because we have 5G towers, but we all talk on mobile phones and also eat food with GMOs. Among the finds of archaeologists, there are skeletons with growths on the bones or holes that appear due to tumors. Cancer is a malfunction in the body, and in ancient times it also met.

Today, people are more likely to encounter oncology, because before they simply did not live to the age when such diseases appear. They could be eaten by a bear, they died in skirmishes with neighboring tribes, they froze or died of hunger.

Another important note: we can not always determine from the skeleton whether a person really did not get sick and why he died. If he suffered, for example, from pulmonary tuberculosis or allergies, this will not affect his bones in any way. Therefore, we see the skeleton without damage, but we cannot guarantee that the person was absolutely healthy. We just don't know.

3. Primitive people also suffered from overweight

It is believed that the ancients were slender and beautiful - after all, nature, clean air, healthy food without preservatives and dyes were all around. And a lot of physical exercises that train the body.

But archaeologists during excavations, more than once, original portraits of those people created by contemporaries were found.

For example, Venuses of the Paleolithic era are figurines of beauties of that time. They differ in magnificent, even too magnificent forms. We can guess what exactly the sculptors depicted - the desired ideal or real women. But in any case, they could not come up with such forms. To recreate them, it was necessary to see a real sample.

To endure baby, without problems to give birth and feed him, a woman should have rounded shapes. This is its innate property, necessary for the survival of offspring. Without him, perhaps the human race would not have continued and we would not exist today.

Probably, the ancients had people who were overweight. Ancient figurines also speak of this. The fact is that the tribes lived in different conditions. Some had a hard time getting food. Such tribes had to migrate for a long time to find enough food. Of course, they weren't obese.

And others, for example, had a ravine nearby, where bison or deer regularly fell. Archaeologists have found such gorges - in one of them there were about a thousand skeletons of bison. When fresh meat and fat are always available, it is very easy to gain weight. And fat reserves will help to survive if suddenly food becomes worse.

4. Childbirth among the ancients is a life-threatening test

The myth that women in ancient times gave birth no problem, very popular these days. After all, they lived in the forests, had strong muscles, were dexterous, and coped well with the loads. Therefore, they simply retreated to the side - for example, into the forest or into a special hut. There they gave birth quickly and easily, and then returned.

Sometimes it was. Many tribes built a special hut for childbirth, the woman went there alone, she could not be helped. In other nations, however, a woman could be accompanied by a midwife, but in difficult cases she was unable to help. Therefore, if a woman is healthy, she gave birth without problems, and then she could live for a long time. But those who could not cope with childbirth died immediately and did not fall into the legends.

5. The ancients also suffered from stress and mental illness

The tale of the strong mental health of primitive people is also very popular. Indeed, in ancient times there were no deadlines and urgent matters, people were free from the flow of news and other negative things. Measured life, healthy physical activity, and no problems. This means that diseases that are caused by the consequences of stress should not be. As well as mental disorders.

But it turns out strong stress can leave traces not only on the psyche. It causes hypoplasia of tooth enamel, which is clearly visible when studying the jaws of ancient people.

As teeth form and grow, new layers of enamel form on them. If the child is in a state of severe stress, then the teeth temporarily stop growing. This can happen if some serious misfortune has occurred - famine, epidemic, war. Or the parents were inattentive and did not care about the needs of the child, or even were cruel.

When the stressful situation is over, the teeth begin to grow again. But a small horizontal groove is already forming on them. Almost everyone has one such line. It appears when the baby is weaned and transferred to adult food. But other stripes may not appear.

Anthropologists often find such grooves on the teeth of ancient people. Some have a whole host of them. This means that they experienced serious stressful situations, and quite often.

And mental deviations appeared in them - just like their descendants.

6. Shamans did not always successfully treat with herbs and conspiracies

We know that the ancients also got sick. But there are legends that their shamans were able to treat almost all ailments. And natural remedies, along with conspiracies, worked wonders.

Yes, medicine existed among the ancients. 50,000 years ago, Neanderthals chewed yarrow, chamomile, and poplar bark. These agents acted in much the same way as aspirin.

There was a case when archaeologists found a burial covered with medicinal herbs. The man lying there had broken rib on the back. That is, my back hurt - they put flowers. True, there are traces of only partial healing on the rib. So the miracle didn't happen.

There is also evidence that the ancients had surgeons. For example, 30 thousand years ago in Kalimantan, a foot was amputated. But after that, he lived for many more years - the bones adapted to new loads, this can be seen from their structure.

That is, medicine really existed. But how successful it was is a big question. We find exactly the same traces of healing and fused bones in animals that have definitely not been treated with anything.