Traumas of the Past

By examining the bones of ancient people, paleopathologists can determine their age, gender, occupation, diet, medical history, injuries sustained while hunting or when fighting with enemies. They can even suggest the cause of death and tell whether a person was right- or left-handed. Sometimes bone research reveals new facts about our past. For example, that 7,000 years ago people knew how to perform trepanation, and 13,000 years ago they suffered from cavities and treated their teeth with wax and bitumen mixed with herbs and hair. How do scientists study human bones, and what stories about the lives of our ancestors can the remains tell? This is what the new exhibition "Traumas of the Past" at Darwin Museum will show.

Rare samples of bones were provided for the exhibition by the Institute of Archeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the "Ice Age" Museum.

Did you know?

Professional deformation is not only a term the psychologists like to use, but also the imprint of hard physical work on the bones of ancient people. Hunting, carrying weights, digging or blacksmithing develop one side of the body better than the other. Such occupations can be calculated by finding a relatively complete skeleton. Regular sewing, skin-piercing, beading, and other intricate work leave characteristic marks on the phalanges of the fingers and can be preserved for millennia.

Look for:

the trepanned skulls found in the southern regions of Russia. Surprisingly, it is true that 7,000 years ago, people performed such complex operations. Scientists are still wondering why trepanation was developing independently in different parts of the world so distant from each other, and what it was intended for. Was it the treatment of severe headaches or part of a ritual/initiation ceremony? Evidence shows that operated "patients" would often remain alive for several weeks or even many years, which demonstrates how skillful the ancient "surgeons" were.

Things To Do:

Take a close look at the methods of bone research displayed at the exhibition and try on the role of a paleopathologist in the computer game entitled "Archaeological excavation": find the skeleton of an ancient man, determine the sex, age, injuries, and cause of death.