All articles tagged with #paleopathology
A study reveals that ancient Patagonian hunter-gatherers cared for injured members, with evidence of social support systems for severe injuries, challenging assumptions about mobility and caregiving in non-sedentary societies.
Benjamina, a 500,000-year-old Homo heidelbergensis child from Spain, provides the earliest evidence of social empathy and caregiving in human evolution, challenging previous notions about the emergence of social behaviors, and highlights the importance of humanizing ancient individuals to better understand our evolutionary history.
Researchers have discovered cutmarks on a 4,000-year-old Egyptian skull, indicating ancient attempts at cancer surgery. This finding provides unique evidence that ancient Egyptians explored medical treatments for cancer, showcasing their advanced medical knowledge and experimental approaches. The study, published in Frontiers in Medicine, highlights the complexity of ancient medical practices and opens new perspectives on the history of medicine.
A study published in Frontiers in Medicine reveals that ancient Egyptians attempted cancer surgery over 4,000 years ago, as evidenced by cut marks around cancerous growths on two ancient skulls. This finding highlights the advanced medical knowledge of ancient Egyptians and marks a significant milestone in the history of medicine.
Researchers have discovered evidence of ancient Egyptian attempts at cancer surgery on two skulls dating back over 4,000 years. The male skull, dated from 2,687 to 2,345 B.C., showed cut marks around cancerous lesions, indicating early surgical intervention. This finding, published in the journal Frontiers in Medicine, highlights a significant milestone in the history of medicine, revealing that ancient Egyptians explored ways to treat cancer despite their limited medical knowledge.
A 4,600-year-old Egyptian skull with signs of brain cancer and surgical cut marks suggests that ancient Egyptians attempted to treat the disease, pushing back the timeline of documented cancer treatment by up to 1,000 years.
Researchers have discovered evidence of ancient Egyptian attempts to treat cancer in a 4,000-year-old skull, showing cutmarks around cancerous lesions. This finding suggests that ancient Egyptian medicine was more advanced than previously thought, particularly in experimental treatments for cancer. The study highlights the complexity of medical practices in antiquity and opens new avenues for research in paleo-oncology.
A new study published in the journal Nature used paleopathology techniques on 2,000-year-old bones unearthed in Brazil to recover the earliest known genomic evidence of Treponema pallidum, the bacterium that causes syphilis, suggesting that the disease may have originated in the Americas and was present long before the first trans-Atlantic contacts. The findings challenge the long-standing theory that syphilis emerged in Europe after Columbus' expeditions, indicating a more complex and ancient history of the disease's evolution and global distribution.
Researchers have discovered a Neanderthal thumb bone with signs of osteoarthritis, providing the first evidence of this condition in a finger belonging to our extinct cousins. The study suggests that the arthritis may have developed due to repeated knocks and shocks sustained during regular flint knapping, causing severe pain and hindering daily tasks. Neanderthals' short limb bones made them highly susceptible to osteoarthritis, although it had not been detected in their hands until now. The cause of the condition remains uncertain, but it likely resulted from overuse of the hands during activities such as flint knapping or tanning animal skins.