Early Medical Practices in the Neolithic Period - Research Proposal Example

?Early medical practice in the Neolithic period (2000-4000 BC) Sex, Drugs, Rot and Roll: An investigation into Neolithic Doctoring practices via visual and chemical analysis. Abstract This study uses a combination of visual anthropological assessment of Neolithic skeletal remains to for signs of intervention via medical setting of broken bone and direct GS-MC testing of the bone material for chemical elements that could have been ingested before or at the time of death. Overview of the general area and discipline The Neolithic period from between 4000 and 2000 BC is widely recognised as being pivotal in human history because it marks the time when large populations of people shifted from a nomadic, hunter-gatherer lifestyle to a more settled existence dependent on agriculture as a major food source. Evidence for this has been gathered from several centuries of work in the field of archaeology. Often, however, the human remains and artifacts do not provide complete answers to exploratory research questions, and so holistic techniques from the field of anthropology can be used to make sense of supplement sparse findings (Gravlee, 2011). Based on observation of modern hunter gatherer societies, it is theorised that scarce resources and a highly competitive environment encouraged hunter gatherers to limit their population using techniques such as birth spacing using “long lactation, abortion, infanticide and abandonment of the young and infirm” (Clark, p. 37). Settlements in villages, on the other hand, create a more regular supply of food, and also storage facilities, resulting in population growth. On the other hand grains are a less nutritious food than meat and pulses, resulting in deficiencies and illness, while higher population density increases risk from infectious diseases, epidemics and plagues. Paradoxically, then, farming produces both more people and a worsening health scenario. Archaeologists and anthropologists use both empirical data from the field, in the form of bones and monuments, and also inscriptions and early written texts to try and piece together what kind of medical behaviours were common in this period. This has given rise to the discipline of paleomedicine. The aim of the study is to explore the evidence that is present in Neolithic skeletal remains, both visually and chemically, in order to illuminate medical practices of this period. The objectives are to conduct a visual survey and then a targeted analysis looking for narcotic or other chemical traces, and to interpret the remains holistically including any new evidence found. Literature review There is a very extensive literature on the burial practices of Neolithic peoples, (Thomas, 1999) and indeed excavations of burial sites, especially in Egypt but also across Europe and in the Americas provide the largest sources of human bone material for analysis. The form of deposition human remains is, however, not without its problems because the bones are subjected to various processes ranging from burning, to de-fleshing, selected preservation of only parts of the body, and mummification. Various kinds of positioning in different types of ground leave traces on the bones which add layers of complication to scientific analysis. Incomplete samples survive, with uneven distribution due to geological rather than historical variation, which makes it difficult to form a complete picture. There are some Neolithic bone samples which show evidence of healing, but it is not certain that this is a result of medical intervention. The large number of trephined skulls found in Europe in Neolithic deposits, and somewhat later also in Peru, is however, incontrovertible evidence of medical activity (Ackerknecht, 1968, p. 8). McKenzie (1936, p. 895) theorizes that the purpose of scraping a hole in the skull was to cure giddiness or epilepsy but it is unclear what evidence can be drawn to point to this conclusion, other than that no trauma is evident in the bones, which could otherwise explain the hole. The Peruvian examples do show evidence of bone trauma. The differences in these two methods can be seen in the shape of the hole, which is shallow and pond-shaped when scraped, and more jagged in later techniques. There is some evidence of medical and surgical practices in cave painting, such as finger amputations, but it is presumed that these are motivated by religious meanings rather than any pathology (Ackerknecht, 1968, p. 8) One particular discovery in 1991 of a mummified Neolithic body in the Tyrolean Alps, named “Otzi” is a very valuable source of information on Neolithic medicine, not least because it preserves a man in the middle of his life, extremely well preserved along with his clothing, tools and possessions. The body was found with a pouch containing fungus samples (Whittle, 1996, p. 315). The mushrooms were not of the hallucinogenic type but were known to have antibiotic properties, (Fowler, p. 116) as well as a use as tinder in firemaking. A recent article in the lancet highlights the fact that the iceman’s woody bracket fungus Piptoporus betulinus contains an active compound, agaric acid, which has laxative effects and may have been a deliberately administered medicine against intestinal parasites, the eggs of which were found in the Ice Man’s rectum (Capasso, 1998). Another feature of this specimen is that it shows intriguing evidence of tattoos. Some of the tattoos may have been purely decorative, but some of them seem to be suitable as location points for a procedure akin to acupuncture because they consist of simple geometric shapes arranged in linear formation on the back and legs, in a manner strikingly close to modern acupuncture charts (Dorfer et al. 1999, p. 1023). Further tattoo specimens have been found in Siberia (Rudenko, 1970). The majority of the material available from the Neolithic period consists of skeletal remains, and some work has been done on dental evidence and diet (Lubell et al., 1994). A combination of thorough visual examination and modern GC-MS testing of the bone material for chemical elements offers a new angle on medical practices because it will reveal both healing processes at work, and any potential use of medicinal narcotics. These testing techniques have been used on organic residues of 958 British prehistoric pots to trace dairy material (Copley et al., 2002) and a similar method applied to Neolithic bone may bring to light significant information on medical practices of that time. Statement of methodology Timescale Bibliography Ackerknecht, E.H. 1968. A Short History of Medicine. Revised edition. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. Baker, P. and Carr, G. (Eds.) 2002. Practitioners, Practices and Patients: New Approaches to Medical Archaeology and Anthropology. Oxford: Oxbow. Capasso, L. 1998. 5300 years ago, the Ice Man used natural laxatives and antibiotics. The Lancet 352, Issue 9143, p. 1864. Clark, R.P. 2000. Global Life Systems: Population, Food, and Disease in the Process of Globalization. Oxford: Rowan and Littlefield. Copley, M.S., Berstan, R., Dudd, S.N., Docherty, G., Mukherjee, A.J., Straker, V., Payne, S. and Evershed, R.P. 2002. Direct chemical evidence for widespread dairying in prehistoric Britain. PNAS 109 (8). Available online at: http://www.pnas.org/content/100/4/1524.full Dorfer, L., Moser, M., Bahr, F., Spindler, K., Egarter-Vigl, E., Guillen, S., Dohr, G. and Kenner, T. 1999. A medical report from the stone age? The Lancet 354, pp. 1023-1025. Available online at: http://www.utexas.edu/courses/classicalarch/readings/Iceman_Tattoos.pdf Fowler, B. 2000. Iceman: Uncovering the Life and Times of a prehistoric man found in an Alpine glacier. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Gravlee, C. 2011. Research Design and methods in Medical Anthropology. In M. Singer, and P. Erickson, (Eds.). A Companion to Medical Anthropology. Oxford: John Wiley and Sons, pp. 69-92 Lewis-Williams, D. 2005. Inside the Neolithic mind: Consciousness, cosmos and the realm of the gods. London: Thames and Hudson. Lubell, D., Jackes, M., Schwarcz, H., Knyf, M. and Meiklejohn, C. 1994. The Mesolithic-Neolithic transition in Portugal: isotopic and dental evidence of diet. Journal of Archaeological Science 21, pp. 201-206. McKenzie, D. 1936. Surgical Perforation in a Mediaeval Skull with Reference to Neolithic Holing. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Medicine 29, pages 895-898. Available online at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2075960/pdf/procrsmed00478-0037.pdf Rudenko, S.I. 1970. Frozen tombs of Siberia. London: J.M. Dent and Sons. Sigerist, H.E. 1987. History of Medicine. Second edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Singer, M. and Erickson, P. (Eds.). 2011. A Companion to Medical Anthropology. Oxford: John Wiley and Sons. Thomas, J. 1999. Understanding the Neolithic. Second Edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Whittle, A.W.R. 1996. Europe in the Neolithic: The creation of new worlds. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Read More