1. A Study of St Georges Park
Lesson 1
Welcome to Year 11 GCSE History!
Medicine Through Time from Prehistoric to Modern Times/(Exam)
A Study of St Georges Park
(Controlled Assessment)
You will also complete you GCSE RE at the end of year 11

2. Prehistoric means ... Aim of the lesson:
Write down a definition of prehistoric
Before people wrote things down
Aim of the lesson:
To use evidence to find out about prehistoric medicine

3. Prehistoric Times Tick the correct sentences
Prehistoric people were nomadic hunters
An area the size of Britain would only contain a few thousand people
There was lots of clean water available from streams and rivers
Prehistoric people had a poor diet
The nomadic hunting lifestyle provided people with plenty of exercise
Human waste was easily got rid of and people moved on before dirt and waste had built up
Prehistoric people were farmers
Prehistoric people could not communicate
There was no government and no one to turn to outside the hunting band if things went wrong
People cooked meat over fires
Prehistoric people had poor teeth
People lived in temporary shelters
Meet was usually plentiful as there was many wild animals and so few people
People knew a lot about plants
Berries, wild leaves and roots were eaten as vegetables
Prehistoric people drank alcohol

4. Prehistoric Times Tick the correct sentences
Prehistoric people were nomadic hunters
An area the size of Britain would only contain a few thousand people
There was lots of clean water available from streams and rivers
Prehistoric people had a poor diet
The nomadic hunting lifestyle provided people with plenty of exercise
Human waste was easily got rid of and people moved on before dirt and waste had built up
Prehistoric people were farmers
Prehistoric people could not communicate
There was no government and no one to turn to outside the hunting band if things went wrong
People cooked meat over fires
Prehistoric people had poor teeth
People lived in temporary shelters
Meat was usually plentiful as there was many wild animals and so few people
People knew a lot about plants
Berries, wild leaves and roots were eaten as vegetables
Prehistoric people drank alcohol

6. the Prehistoric Period?
What forms of evidence
still exist from
the Prehistoric Period?

7. Herbs
Herbs

8. Weapons
Weapons

9. Cave
Painting

10. Bones

11. Looking at the evidence what can we suggest about medicine in the prehistoric period?
INFER
You have 10 minutes

12. Lesson objective: to develop a deeper understanding of prehistoric medicine.
Lesson Outcomes: must be able to describe trepanning, why it was done and describe other aspects of prehistoric medicine.
Trepanning

13. What was trepanning?
(from Greek trupanon, borer) or trephining.
This is maybe the most ancient form of brain surgery known to man:
Just imagine:
a hole of 2.5 to 5 cm of diameter, drilled by hand into the skull of a living man
without any anesthetics or antiseptics during 30 to 60 long minutes

14. Archaeological Report by F. Reynoldson
Prehistoric graves of men and women have been found all over the world. Sometimes there is evidence of trephining. This is when a whole has been cut into a person’s skull. Often the missing piece is buried with its owner.
Update
Most trephined skulls have rounded edges around the hole which shows that there has been bone regrowth (the bone grew afterwards).

16. Why was trepanning done?
Theory 1: Dr. Prunieres 1865
Holes were made to become drinking cups
Theory 2: Professor Paul Broca 1876
Suggested operation was done on children. Those who lived on had magical powers
Theory 4: E. Guiard 1930
Suggested trepanning was done to help illness e.g. broken skulls, headaches and epilepsy.
Theory 3: Douglas Guthrie 1945
Suggested trepanning was done to let out evil spirits.
In fact, for some of these conditions, trepanning shows a true therapeutic effect, and it is still used by neurosurgeons.

17. Archaeological Evidence
Bones may have been damaged in excavation. Is a hole in the skull a battle wound, the excavator axe when digging it up or a operation?
The evidence is limited – the Skeletons only help us to answer some not all questions.
Problems of
Archaeological Evidence
Few sites contain human bones.
It seems that prehistoric people left dead bodies in the open so that the flesh would rot or be eaten by birds.
Then the bones were buried away from human sites
The skeletons at Ibister may not be typical of other prehistoric groups or all the people at Ibister. They may be the skulls of enemies.

19. How can we fill in these gaps
in our knowledge?
Are there any people groups which are still around in the last two centuries that show prehistoric type behaviour/culture?

20. The
Aborigines

21. Prehistoric Medicine Prehistoric Medicine How healthy were people?
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
What caused sickness?
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Prehistoric Medicine
Prehistoric Medicine
How did they treat illness and injury?
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
What did they think caused illness?
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Who treated the sick?
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

23. Aboriginal/prehistoric person Is the cause of the illness obvious?
Suffering from illness
Approach
The Dual
Is the cause of the illness obvious?
Yes No
Common Sense Cause
Spiritual Cause
Problem 1
Broken Arm
Problem 2
Cut
Problem 1
Evil Spirit in the body
Problem 2
Spirit has left the body
Encase in clay and dry in the sun
Cover with clay or animal fat and bind with bark
Spirit must be driven out of the body using charms
Spirit must be returned to the body. Spirit must be found on the end of a pointing stick.