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The Greek physician, Galen, dissected Barbary apes as an alternative to humans.

Medicine: Prehistoric Times And The Ancient World

From prehistoric shamans to Egyptian surgeons, this quiz explores how early people tried to understand illness, use remedies, and explain disease in the ancient world.

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Fascinating Fact:

In ancient Mesopotamia, healers combined practical treatments with prayers. Clay tablets listed symptoms, omens, and possible cures.

In GCSE History, the study of prehistoric and ancient medicine shows how ideas about illness began. You will compare spiritual explanations, natural remedies, early surgery, and the role of priests and healers in societies such as Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, and Rome.

Key Terms

Prehistoric medicine: Ways of treating illness before writing was developed, often based on magic, ritual, and simple herbal remedies.
Ancient civilisation: An early complex society, such as Mesopotamia or Egypt, with cities, writing, laws, and organised religion.
Trephination: A form of early surgery where a small hole was cut into the skull, possibly to treat injury or release evil spirits.

Frequently Asked Questions (Click to see answers)

What is prehistoric and ancient medicine in GCSE History?

In GCSE History, prehistoric and ancient medicine refers to how early societies tried to explain and treat illness before modern science. It includes spiritual ideas, herbal cures, and basic surgery in places like Mesopotamia and Egypt.

How did ancient Egyptians and Mesopotamians treat illness?

Ancient Egyptians and Mesopotamians used a mixture of practical and religious methods. They applied herbs and bandages, followed written recipes, and also used prayers, charms, and rituals to ask gods for healing.

Why is early medicine important for the history of medicine course?

Early medicine is important because it shows the starting points of medical thinking. By studying prehistoric and ancient practices, you can see how ideas about causes, treatments, and recording symptoms developed over time.

Try These Related Quizzes

1 .

Where is the evidence to be found for Egyptian medical practice?

Inscriptions on stone within burial chambers

Writing found on cloth in tombs

Information from Ancient Greek sources, based on finds at Alexandria

Information brought out of Egypt by traders like the Phoenicians

The information is purely visual, and therefore hard to decipher

2 .

The Ancient Egyptians were admired for their hygiene. Which of the following practices was not used widely by them?

Mosquito nets

Frequent changes of clothing

Shaving of heads

Bathing in asses' milk

Historians have been impressed by the high standard of Ancient Egyptian hygiene

3 .

Julius Caesar issued a decree in 46 BC giving doctors a special status. What was this?

They were given noble status and made patricians

They were made Roman citizens

They were assured of a minimum rate of pay, that would give them a high standard of living

They were allowed to practise medicine unhindered

Rome was keen to attract medics, and to keep them

4 .

In prehistoric times a form of treatment called trepanning was used. What did this involve?

Cutting a wide round hole in the skull, usually at the top

Making a small incision in the temple in order to bleed the skull cavity

Cutting vertically down the middle of the rib cage in order to observe the workings of the heart and the lungs

Cutting off the exterior of the nose to search for "humours"

This is a mysterious procedure, about which we know only from human remains. But what its purpose was can only be guessed

5 .

At Pergamum, Galen found plenty of wounds to attend to. How had these victims sustained their injuries?

As soldiers in the Roman legions

As mercenaries in foreign armies

As members of criminal gangs fighting their rivals

As gladiators, in combat either against each other or against wild beasts

Galen thrived on wounds: he believed, for example, in pepper being sprayed on cold things and cucumber being used on hot things

6 .

The Romans were keen to have a clean water supply, and to be able to transport it where it was needed. What structures did they build in order to ensure this?

Viaducts

Aqueducts

Cloaca

Caldaria

Many of these are still standing: monuments to Roman engineering and plumbing

7 .

Alexandria, in Egypt, became a centre for medicine which attracted many Greek investigators. What was the main reason for its popularity?

It was a cosmopolitan community, and many people there were interested in medical research

It was easy to reach by sea from surrounding areas

Human dissection was allowed here - Alexandria was one of the few places where this was so

The nearby Nile Valley was a useful place to conduct investigations into malaria

Alexandria was in Egypt, but it was also a window onto a wider world

8 .

The Greeks believed that four "humours" existed in the human body, ideally in a state of equilibrium. One of these was "phlegm". What would be a more modern word for this substance?

Bile

Mucus

Saliva

Seminal fluid

It was thought that if an imbalance were to develop among the humours, then illness was not far away

9 .

Galen was not allowed to dissect humans in Greece, so what animals did he use for this purpose?

Barbary apes

Wild boar

Sheep

Wild goats

Galen maintained that the animals that he slaughtered were as good as humans - they had a very similar body structure

10 .

Followers of the Greek god of healing, Asklepios, frequented temples where his presence could be felt. Which of the following sites did not hold a temple to this god?

Epidaurus

Pergamum

Kos

Delphi

It was believed that the god would visit the faithful, while they were asleep at the shrine

Author: Edward Towne