Chapter 3: The Dawn of Homo Sapiens Sapiens and Early Medicine

Modern humans, known as Homo sapiens sapiens, first appeared in Africa around 200,000 years ago. By approximately 100,000 years ago, they began migrating out of Africa, eventually spreading across the globe. These early humans were more anatomically and behaviorally advanced than their predecessors, including Homo habilis, Homo erectus, and earlier forms of Homo sapiens . Their bodies were more suited for walking long distances, allowing them to travel to various parts of the world in search of food. As they adapted to different environments, they also developed better tools and hunting techniques .

As Patricia Netzley notes in her book World History Series: The Stone Age, these early Homo sapiens sapiens lacked the pronounced facial features of the Neanderthals and had taller, less robust bodies. In appearance, they were quite similar to modern humans. Netzley explains, "Longer legs gave them the ability to travel longer distances, which meant they came into contact with many other tribes of people. This exposure to other cultures and ideas may be the source of their greater creativity compared to their ancestors" . Additionally, these humans made a wide variety of tools, utilizing materials such as rock, bone, antlers, ivory, and wood . They fashioned weapons like saws, chisels, flint axes, spears, bows, and arrows. Thin pieces of bone were used as needles to sew hides into clothing . These advancements enabled them to hunt larger animals, like the Woolly Mammoth, and they used every part of the animals they killed—eating the meat, using the bones for tools, and creating ornaments and beads from leftover materials .

They likely developed a form of communication, possibly both verbal and artistic. Cave paintings found in several locations suggest that these early humans used art to record their activities and relay knowledge to future generations . Language, though speculative, must have existed to facilitate hunting coordination, knowledge-sharing, and the teaching of traditions, myths, and medicinal practices .

While there is little direct evidence of medical practices from this period, it’s reasonable to assume that Homo sapiens sapiens developed rudimentary forms of medicine. They likely provided care to the injured and sick, experimenting with herbs and natural substances as remedies. As they had no concept of internal diseases, their explanations of ailments likely involved the supernatural—perhaps attributing sickness to spirits or demons. Netzley hypothesizes that such beliefs led to the development of rituals, incantations, and prayers aimed at appeasing these spirits .

According to historian Fielding Hudson Garrison, primitive people often worshiped natural forces and elements, like the sun, moon, and storms, which they believed were controlled by spirits. Disease was thought to be caused by malevolent forces and could only be cured by appeasing these spirits . Garrison explains that these early humans would offer sacrifices and engage in rituals to ward off disease or misfortune. They might have believed that diseases were caused by human enemies with supernatural powers or by offended spirits of the dead .

Given the prevalence of respiratory diseases today, it's plausible that early humans experienced symptoms similar to asthma or bronchitis. While these diseases may not have existed in their current forms, infections and environmental factors could have caused airway inflammation, leading to breathing difficulties .

As empathy developed within these early communities, humans began to care for one another more attentively. Mothers would comfort their children when they were hurt, using simple remedies such as applying mud to burns or massaging sore muscles. These actions represented the earliest forms of caregiving, laying the foundation for more formalized medical practices .

By the time Homo sapiens sapiens had fully established themselves across various regions, they had created complex societies with spiritual beliefs, healing practices, and sophisticated tools. These developments mark the dawn of medicine, which would evolve as human understanding of the body and disease grew over time .

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References:

1. Netzley, Patricia D. World History Series: The Stone Age, San Diego, CA: Lucent Books, 1998.
2. Roberts, J.M. The Illustrated History of the World: Prehistory and the First Civilizations: Volume I, New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.
3. BBC Science and Nature, "Neanderthal: Their Bodies Were Well Equipped to Cope with the Ice Age," http://www.bbc.co.uk/sn/tvradio/programmes/horizon/neanderthal_prog_summary.shtml (accessed April 4, 2013).
4. Garrison, Fielding Hudson. An Introduction to the History of Medicine, 3rd ed., Philadelphia and London: W.B. Saunders Company, 1922.
5. Sigerist, Henry E. History of Medicine: Volume I: Primitive and Archaic Medicine, New York: Oxford University Press, 1951.