What did prehistoric people know about the anatomy and surgery?

Question: What did prehistoric people know about the anatomy and surgery!?

revision for my GCSE!.!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:

There is evidence to show that prehistoric people did have medical knowledge!. Trepanation (the removal of part of the skull) took place in the neolithic era!. And so did acupuncture!.

Studies of botanical remains from various prehistoric sties across the world show that Neolithic people knew and grew a number of drug plants that could have been used for their anaesthetic and other medicinal properties!. Opium (from which morphine is derived), cannabis, henbane and other nightshades with narcotic properties and coco (source of the powerful stimulant and anaesthetic alkaloid cocaine) are merely a few of the medicinal plants that can be picked out of the prehistoric pharmacopoeia!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

In prehistoric times,there was much superstition and medicine was done by a healer/witch doctor who also not only learned from and elder but also thru trial and error!.
Many tribes kept to themselves and with no mail system,everything was by word of mouth, news of a new medication or healing method was slow!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

prehistoric man was primitive when it came to medical practices!. they would brace a broken bone, stop bleeding and other obvious injuries!. surgery was unheard of!. evidence of what is now considered to be fairly simple injuries being fatal are evidenced in many skeletal remains that have been found!. some later cultures in Asia and south America practiced in basic medicine!. although their practices were limited to more spiritual based procedures, drilling holes in the head to let out bad spirits, blood letting, inducing catatonic states, etc!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Hard to tell!. Pre-history is not written down!. Judging by how little was understood about the human body in Ancient times you can imagine that Late Neolithic people knew even less!.There of course would be cause and effect knowledge such as understanding that thought was seated in the brain after seeing the results of cranial damage!.Blood was seen to be important to life but not understood as to how or why!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Caveman skulls have been found which show signs of trepanning!. This suggests they had some understanding of the significance of the brain!.Www@QuestionHome@Com