The evolutionary process of man has made the life we have today possible. It was not easy to conquer. Much less fast. Human beings had to adjust to the conditions in which they lived. Little by little, they made their relationships more enjoyable and easier for their group. Which brings us to the beginning, until the Stone Age .
This was the period in our history where stone tools date back 3.3 million years. Later, after millions of years, humanity began to go beyond that. Humankind has lost 98% of its existence relying only on tools made of horn, bone and stone. On the other hand, you are wrong if you think life at this time was simpler. We show here evidence that you would not survive in the Stone Age.
1 – Surgeries
Modern medicine is capable of making various transplants and incisions with very precise anesthetics and tools. On the other hand, in the Stone Age, surgeries were also performed, although distinct. And archaeologists have proof. The archaeologists at the University of Freiburg were working in France when they excavated a group of seven thousand years.
One of the bodies was a 50-year-old man who had two holes in his skull. The wounds were very clean and without any damage around. And the holes were about 2.5 inches. And studies show that the holes were drilled at different times, about six months from each other. Similarly, the healing period for these incisions was two years. Moreover, they were clearly made without any anesthesia.
2 – Food
Even in the Stone Age, humans had to eat. University of Valencia anthropologists have discovered human bones dating back 10,000 years. It was later concluded that this showed that human flesh was on the menu of the people of that time. And to soften meat, they used the same techniques on men, women, and children as they used on animals.
3 – Death
In 2007, archaeologists made bizarre discoveries in an excavation of graves dating approximately 27,000 years ago. One had the remains of three young people. One had congenital dysplasia, one lying on his stomach and another positioned to reach the other’s hips.
There were several graves with sets of remains and there was one more unusual thing between them. They had signs of deformity and dwarfism and suggest that human sacrifice was real at the time. In short, this suggests that bodies were placed the way they were found for a purpose. But it is not known why.
4 – Teeth
In the Stone Age, death seemed to be a viable option rather than going to the dentist. According to findings by the University of Bologna, dentistry had been practiced for at least 13,000 years. And she was as horrible as you can imagine. Old teeth show that sharp stones were used to scrape cavities and tissues.
Interestingly, the techniques used by dentists at the time were the same as those used today. The cavities were cleaned and then sealed with black tar called bitumen. But death was quite possible when you had a tooth problem.
5 – Conflicts
People are always people no matter what period of history. This means that conflicts will happen and they will try to kill each other. And to think that in the Stone Age man was more willing to work collectively for survival is a little wrong. They were prone to kill others, just as they are today.
A study was published by the University of Cambridge in 2016 entitled “Testimony of the Antiquity of Violence and War Between Groups.” The skeletons found were of men, women and children and showed fractures that were certainly from a massacre. And because they weren’t buried, the researchers think they could have a dubious hour.
6 – Security
To think that in the Stone Age people were safer is wrong. According to Rick Schulting of Queen’s University, he analyzed the remains of 250 people and estimated that during that time, people had 1 in 20 chances of having their skulls fractured.
“We generally think that neoliths live peaceful lives – they were busy tending grain and livestock. But it was a much more violent society,” he explained.
7 – Losses
Today, anyone is born as a Homo sapiens. But in the Stone Age, it could have been something else, and if that were the case, they would be doomed. An example of this is Homo erectus, which was present in the early Stone Age but later disappeared. Archaeologists have always wondered why, and according to researchers at the Australian National University, it was the inability to adapt to the weather. And also because they were lazy and used only the things around them.
Another example is the Neanderthals. Who even learned to use stone tools, create fire, live in small family groups, but were also extinct. Even those born Homo sapiens were not guaranteed to live. It was practically a lottery sure of survival.
