Paleolithic Hunter Gatherer Period: The Healthiest and Safest Era in Human Life

Introduction

The Paleolithic period was an ancient cultural era characterized by the use of rudimentary chipped stone tools. These tools were used to hunt for food and to gather materials that were used for their survival. As a result of this, the period is also known as the hunter-gatherer period, which is the subject for this essay. A hunter and gather’s health was affected by the three different environments: physical, biological and social. Although their health was affected by the different environments, it was the healthiest and safest era in human life.

The Effects of Environment on Hunter Gatherer Society

Biological environment

A biological environment consists of what we need to survive, plants and animals. This environment acts as a source of food, shelter, nonhuman companionship and other factors (Last, Stallones, White, 2013). A biological environment affected the health of the people of the paleolithic era by they had to gather their own food and find their own shelter. There were no grocery stores or houses already built, so the hunters and gathers had to do this work them selves. During the paleolithic age, malnutrition and famine were not seen as common as it was later on after this period. One danger of the hunters going out to get their own food, they had a high chance of getting attack or killed by the animals. The gathers also had a hard time, nit knowing that what they are actually gathering is poisonous or not. The hunter and gatherers had to create the tools they needed from rudimentary chipped stone tools (Britannica Encyclopedia, 2018). Although there were many dangers, this era also had its advantages. With hunting for their own food, they knew exactly what they were eating. All the food they ate was fresh, even the food the gathers had supplied was fresh. The content of the fat in the paleolithic diet was similar to the fat content in our diets today. Although they are very similar, the ratios at which the fat are consumed are different, in the paleolithic era the ratio of Omega-6 to Omega-3 was 3:1 and in present day the ratio is 12:1. This means that the paleolithic era consumed less fat (Paleolithic Age). Parts of animals were also used to create the structure for some of their housing, to frame they used the bones of larger animals and also used their hides to cover the bones to protect them from the elements.

Physical environment

A physical environment is the natural environment that we live in. This environment includes topography, water availability, temperature and geological structures (Last et al., 2013). A physical environment affected the health of the paleolithic era by the terrain being more rough, so it would be harder for them to get around. They would try to build their community close to water, so they would have a constant supply of water, and then when the water availability started to decrease, they would have to move. One benefit of the water in this era, is that it didn’t have any contaminants that we have in our water systems now in modern society. Another advantage to this era is that none of the natural environment was contaminated with pollutants, and big problem now in modern society. Some people of the paleolithic era lived in cooler environments, while others lived in warmer climates. The cooler environments lead people to use the skins of animals to stay warm, and used the natural shelters they found for protection. The warmer environments lead people not to have the need for shelters and little need for clothing.

Social environment

A social environment is anything that involves a coalition of people. Some example of this environment include economics, philosophies, and occupations (Last et al., 2013). A social environment affected the health of the people the paleolithic era by not quite existing in a big way. There was no medicine or anyone that really know how to practice it, so when if any of the people in that era had became sick or had gotten hurt, there was no one available to majorly help out. Hunter-gatherers had believed that not only did humans have spirits, but also animals and plants had spirits also. With their beliefs of the spirits, they had a belief of the after-life, and believed they could life longer with the help of their ancestors spirits. They recorded, what they thought, to be their story, with painting pictures on walls of caves, to be seen by whoever passed through their community, and so their stories will be remembered (Paleolithic Beginnings).

Conclusion

The paleolithic hunter-gatherer period was one of the safest and healthiest periods in time. Although they did have their problems with biological, social and physical environments, they overcame their problems and made what we have today possible.

References

1. Last, J., Stallones, L., White, J. (2013) Global Public Health: Ecological Foundations. New York, NY: Oxford University Press
2. Paleolithic Age. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Paleolithic_Age
3. Paleolithic Beginnings. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.humanjourney.us/ideas-that-shaped-our-modern-world-section/paleolithic-beginnings/
4. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica (2018, November 02). Paleolithic Period Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrived January 20, 2019, https://www.britannica.com/event/Paleolithic-Period