Human origins
Australopithecines are an ancient, extinct ancestor species to the genus homo
Homo habilis lived from about 2,400,000-1,400,000 years ago; they are believed to be one
of the earliest users of stone tools
Homo erectus, a closer relative still, lived from 1,900,000-143,000 years ago; they may have
been the first species to eat cooked food
Homo Neanderthalensis is our closest extinct relative; they lived in Europe and Asia from
200,000 to 28,000 years ago, and may have interbred with Homo Sapiens
Paleopathology
Trauma
Congenital disease
Dental disease – caries, abscesses, periodontal disease
Joint disease – osteoarthritis
Infectious disease – tuberculosis; osteomyelitis; sinusitis; leprosy; syphilis
Cancer
Nutritional deficiency
Paleolithic Homo sapiens
Like their forebears, these peoples would have lived in small groups of 20-30 individuals
Survived as foragers and hunters
Used fire for cooking
Had a life expectancy of about 25 years, with about 20% living 40+ years
Diseases would have been similar to early hominid ancestor species, with fewer parasitic
diseases in populations living in more temperate climates
Hunter-Gatherers in the Historical Period
Like their prehistoric ancestors, these peoples live in small groups of 25-50 individuals
They survive as foragers, hunters, and fishers
Life expectancy is around 35 years, with about 30% reaching 40+ years of age
Diseases of these groups include intestinal parasites, Salmonella, botulism, lice,
wound/bone infections, pneumonia, zoonotic diseases
Hunter-Gatherers - Health
Nutritional stress (seasonal food scarcity)
Parasites
Trauma – wound and bone infections
Arthritis
Dental – low rates of dental caries (~3%) and abscesses (~3%)
Acute starvation episodes (group death)
Low fertility/low mortality, with adult females living longer than males
Little infectious diseases
Neolithic
Agriculture involves the domestication and purposeful tending of plants and animals for
food and fibre
Agriculture arose independently at various sites around the world, at least as early as about
10,000 years ago
e.g., in the Middle East:
Natural cereal grasses, lentils, peas
Domestic cattle, goats, sheep, pig
One of the key developments associated with agriculture is the establishment of permanent
villages
The first towns were small from a contemporary perspective: 3,000-10,000 people (with
densities of 20,000 people/km2 in town)
Sedentism Leads to Agriculture
In the pre-Neolthic there was an increase in sedentism and the use of plant foods
Wild grains were harvested at least 20,000 years ago
Agricultural foods are used to supplement a hunting and foraging-based diet
Populations grew as a result of increased fertility from sedentism (~500-800 years after the
introduction of agriculture)
A “mixed bag”: agriculture requires long work hours, and reduces dietary diversity;
Environmental disturbance “creates” disease
Town Life
Crowding
Unsanitary – stagnant water/ human waste
Poor ventilation
Domestic animal and human-human diseases
Farmers/ herders: Health Status
Nutritional stress (protein deficits)
Parasites
Little trauma
Arthritis
Dental caries
Few acute starvation epidsodes
High fertility/high mortality, with adult males living longer than females
Many acute infectious diseases
Early Agriculture (Swidden)
In general, these groups resemble hunter-gatherers, except for:
Increased dental caries and abscesses
Increased parasites
Increased life expectancy (35–40 years)
Higher fertility/lower mortality
Intensive Agriculture
Increased incidence and prevalence of Intestinal infections and parasites
Tuberculosis, measles, influenza and other infectious disease epidemics
Of shorter stature than other peoples; often suffer from protein malnutrition
Decreased life expectancy (25–30 years)
High fertility/high mortality
Diseases of the Neolithic
Old World
Domesticated animals introduced a number of infectious diseases to previously unaffected
humans:
Cattle  measles, TB, smallpox
Pigs and ducks  influenza
Pigs and dogs  whooping cough
The use of Irrigation (and the standing water that results) increased cases of diseases like
malaria and schistosomiasis
New World
There were few domesticated animals, so diseases were limited to those endemic to the
Americas, and those infections brought to the New World when it was first peopled:
TB
Treponemal diseases (e.g. syphilis)
Carrion’s disease
Chagas’ disease