1. In the Paleolithic Age (before the Neolithic or agricultural revolution), what kinds of diseases did hunter-gatherers tend to suffer from? What diseases were largely absent among hunter-gatherers? Why? During the Paleolithic Age there were two primary sources for disease causing illnesses. The first category of disease was altered to the primate man-like lineages and continued the evolution process into the human relatives or humans. This type of disease pathogens included lice, yaws, pinworms, and perhaps malaria. Quite possibly microbial infections like salmonella, typhi, and staphylococcus were also among the diseases that infected the people. The diseases that were included in the second category were zoonotic. Some illnesses that …show more content…
The revolution brought novel diseases that were unknown to the people. The organisms in the diseases were altered as a result and made them even more dangerous to the people because they did not have any type of immunity to the diseases. An illness that morphed once it was brought into the New World was syphilis. Syphilis began as a sickness caused by a bacterium, but ended up becoming an infection spread through sexual relations and identified as likely causing an endemic. These infections became more harmful and serious due to differing environmental factors. In fact, further issues with disease arose with the overcrowding of the population leading to an escalation in sexual acts which occurred more frequently when people began prostituting themselves as well as some became more promiscuous which likely fueled the transmission of disease. In addition to diseases caused from lack of immunity and illnesses stemming from those passed through sexual contact, other complications occurred due to the economic growth. Some of these changes impacted those living in the city by creating problematic issues such as; how to dispose of urban waste and pollution that contaminated the water resources, as well as air pollution. There were areas that subsisted in scarcity which furthered the probability of viruses being passed around. The viruses that were being passed became epidemics, some of these illnesses for example were measles, and typhoid, diphtheria, and small pox were among those well-known. Other diseases that more serious in nature were those caused by over populating living spaces and possibly through rough conditions caused in their employment environments some of these included tuberculosis and pneumonia. Another major problem occurred with the death rates versus birth rates for people dwelling in the urban areas. This generated a concern which could only be
...children to have the smallpox vaccination. Towns began building pure water systems and sewer systems, creating a much cleaner environment.
Before discussing how disease has shaped history and altered cultures, it is important to understand how they themselves have developed and changed throughout history. Disease, in the broadest definition of the word, has been present since the beginning of humanity. Even ...
For example, the Beothuk had an increased chance of contracting diseases, such as smallpox, measles, typhoid fever and tuberculosis from the Europeans. This was due to the fact that the Beothuk had never come in contact with such diseases so they were not immune to them, this resulted in an increase of deaths in the Beothuk tribe.
The outburst spread of diseases in a population causes people to panic and become hopeless. The main reason diseases spread is due to unsanitary living styles. Also when a disease first begins, it is really hard to find a cure right away. A very deadly, infectious disease known as Typhus spread during the Holocaust. Typhus is caused by rickettsia and is spread by lice and flees.
The Columbian exchange was the widespread transfer of various products such as animals, plants, and culture between the Americas and Europe. Though most likely unintentional, the byproduct that had the largest impact from this exchange between the old and new world was communicable diseases. Europeans and other immigrants brought a host of diseases with them to America, which killed as much as ninety percent of the native population. Epidemics ravaged both native and nonnative populations of the new world destroying civilizations. The source of these epidemics were due to low resistance, poor sanitation, and inadequate medical knowledge- “more die of the practitioner than of the natural course of the disease (Duffy).” These diseases of the new world posed a serious
The Spread of Disease In the New World The extraordinary good health of the natives prior to the coming of the Europeans would become a key ingredient in their disastrous undoing. The greatest cause of disease in America was epidemic diseases imported from Europe. Epidemic diseases killed with added virulence in the " virgin soil" populations of the Americas. The great plague that arose in the Old World never emerged on their own in the western hemisphere and did not spread across oceans until Columbus' discovery.
Mosquitoes carried the diseases and when a person got bit he would give a disease to the mosquito and the mosquito would pass it on to the next victim ("Historical Overview").
While the Europeans were traveling to the New World, they often brought domesticated animals with them for sources of food and livestock. When animals and humans are living in close quarters together, it is very likely for exposure to germs to occur. New diseases were brought over by foreigners looking for fame and gold that killed off many of the natives in the new lands. The natives did not stand a chance against these new threats because of a lack of knowledge and supplies to cure themselves. Once the Europeans established diseases as they made land in the New World, their journey had only become easier as their competition were being wiped out from the rapid spread.
The filth of the cities promoted the spread of disease faster than doctors could discover a cure. This encouraged large outbreaks of many deadly diseases. And it is said that throughout this period there were people who went about the cities and towns with wagons calling "Bring out your dead!" in a fashion similar to that of the Medieval era during the bubonic plague (Which, by the way, was not yet a dead disease).
By the 1840’s high rates of disease were ascribed to the housing many of New York’s poverty-stricken immigrants lived in. Fear spread that while disease was rooted in the polluted living conditions of New York’s poorer communities, disease could easily spread to the more well off citizens too. Public health officials realized that the city’s soiled streets and polluted sewers were a health risk to all New Yorkers. In the mid-nineteenth century, New York possessed a primitive sewage system. Poorly planned sewers spanned the city, but most citizens’ homes did not connect to these pipes. Instead, most New Yorkers relied on outdoor outhouses and privies. Because of the high levels of unmanaged waste, epidemics of infectious diseases were commonplace in New York. The city battled outbreaks of smallpox, typhoid, malaria, yellow fever, cholera, and tuberculosis. In 1849, a rash of cholera struck the city, killing more than five thousand people. A wave of typhoid in the mid-1860’s resulted in a similar amount of deaths. Port cities and transportation hubs, like New York, were especially prone to outbursts of infectious diseases because of the high volume of travelers that passed through the city. Americans realized that they were contracting and dying from infectious diseases at an alarming rate, but weren’t entirely sure of why or how. (Web, par. 17,
Native Americans never came in contact with diseases that developed in the Old World because they were separated from Asia, Africa, and Europe when ocean levels rose following the end of the last Ice Age. Diseases like smallpox, measles, pneumonia, influenza, and malaria were unknown to the Native Americans until the Europeans brought these diseases over time to them. This triggered the largest population decline in all recorded history. Fifty percent of the Native American population had died of disease within twenty years. Soon after, Native Americans began to question their religion and doubted the ability of shamen to heal. This was the first step towards the destruction of Native cultures. The Native Americans had never experienced anything like these deadly diseases before and they came to believe that Europeans had the power to kill or give life.
The Paleolithic Age was the earliest period of man. This time period dates back to 15,000 BCE. There are many artifacts from the Paleolithic Age including Lucy (female hominid), Otzi (ice man), and cave art.
When explorers started exploring the New World they were excited and thrilled to start their new life and a new beginning. People started traveling to come to the new world and leave the old world behind them. Little did travelers know, however, when they arrived in the New World they brought the diseases from the old world they were exposed to in the Old World with them. Smallpox, typhus, cholera, and the measles were only the main ones that people brought with them. Nobody knew how to cure them, what caused it, and there was no way to get vaccinations or medicine for them like there is today. When people caught something they simply had to try to fight it off and most of the time it led to death unfortunately. The Indians relatively
When the European arrived to the Americas, they brought diseases such as smallpox, influenza, and measles. Because the Native Americans did not have immunity to these diseases, masses lost their lives.
The separation of the Paleolithic and Neolithic Ages mark a great divide in the lives and cultures of prehistoric peoples. Many aspects of everyday life were modified to suit a new standard of living. Society, Economy, and Technology were greatly affected by the "Agricultural Revolution" that spawned the Neolithic Age.