All articles tagged with #romans
Archaeologists found evidence that ancient Romans used fossils of extinct marine creatures like trilobites as amulets, with signs of intentional modification for jewelry, dating back to the 1st-3rd centuries CE, highlighting their fascination with fossils and possible magical beliefs.
A new study suggests that dementia may be a "modern disease" as there are few mentions of severe memory loss in ancient Greek and Roman medical texts. The research found that while the ancient Greeks recognized mild cognitive impairment with aging, there was no evidence of major memory loss akin to Alzheimer's or other types of dementia. The study speculates that modern environments and lifestyles may contribute to the prevalence of dementia, with factors such as pollution and lead poisoning potentially playing a role. Additionally, findings from the Tsimane Amerindians, who have low rates of dementia, support the idea that environment is a significant determinant of dementia risk.
A new analysis of classical Greek and Roman medical texts suggests that severe memory loss, as seen in Alzheimer's and other types of dementia, was extremely rare 2,000 to 2,500 years ago. The research indicates that Alzheimer's disease and related dementias may be diseases of modern environments and lifestyles, with sedentary behavior and exposure to air pollution largely to blame. The study also draws parallels between the low rates of dementia in the ancient world and among the Tsimane Amerindians, an Indigenous people of the Bolivian Amazon, who have a preindustrial lifestyle and are very physically active.