is it true that people in the stone age had better life quality than people in the middle ages?
>>471681
I don't know about middle ages, but there are pretty hard evidences that hunter & gatherers lived better than first farmers.
>>471681
Define quality of life
>>471681
Define
The social classes and the exact period of the middle ages.
Anyways consider that the average medieval guy in Western Europe probably lived better the average Italian during Roman rule.
>>471681
Better nutrition and less disease certainly. Warfare also tended to be far less bloody, society was structured less hierarchically, and things were generally more egalitarian.
So I suppose if those are the things you value in daily life, then yes, it was better.
>>471694
They found some pretty grim graves from stone age Germany in which people of all ages and genders were killed.
That said it appears the stone age in some areas was bloodier than in other places.
Better nutrition is largely subjective. One could argue Australian abbo's and Inuit have a high protein diet but I am not sure how healthy those guys were.
>>471681
At minor they did not spend 90% of life for stupid work simply for competition rush without sense.
>>471681
>You will never awake under a lush green canopy with a gentle breeze blowing on your face, the sounds of birds singing and the gentle rush of a small nearby waterfall
>You will never look into the beautiful face of a youthful and healthy woman, deciding you must prove your worth amongst the tribe to obtain her as yours for all time
>You will never enjoy the crisp mountain air as you and your brothers prepare for a manly hunt
>You will never have an optimal physique, being extremely physically fit and having an immense knowledge of the plants and animals of the earth and all their uses
>You will never sit by a roaring fire, eating roasted freshly killed meat under the stars and listening to the beat of a drum
Hold me, /his/
>>471681
Neolithic wa a mistake.
>>471694
>Warfare also tended to be far less bloody.
Maybe in bulk amounts, but warfare prior in hunter-gatherer societies is perhaps the most deadly per-capita of all forms of warfare, because it is near-constant, and there is no discrimination between civilians and military.
>>471702
Middle Ages Europeans didn't work nearly as much as you think; they had many days off.
>>471717
Well depends on what you think is working.
Working the fields yeah, but during the winters they did other stuff to pass time and earn some money.
>>471713
Short term it was, long term it is still undecided.
>>471707
>you will never watched your kid die squealing in agony from an infected tooth abcess
>you will never watched your family starving because you missed and the deer gotvaway
>>471729
There's this meme book by a jap or a kike (forgot who) on human evolution and how grain domesticated people on vice versa, because we put so much work into farming.
Also his whole book could be read as neolithic was a mistake.
>>471717
The lowest number I have heard so far was 52 Sundays plus 50 holidays (old spelling oh holy days)
so 102 days on a year of 365.
>>471738
I was referring to this.
I think that his surname made me think he might be Japanese, but he's obviously Jewish.
>>471737
>not knocking out the kid's tooth with a rock
>Suffering consequences because you were a weak effeminate loser who couldn't get a deer
Fucking agriculturals
>>471758
>You will never throw your newborn in a lake because the tribe cannot maintain another mouth to feed
>You will never be asked to kill yourself because you are partly crippled after slipping on a wet rock and you cannot keep up with the tribe.
>Your exploits will never be written down because no one can write.
>>471768
Also,
Sagging tits
Sagging tits everywhere.
>>471758
>you don't know to hit him with a rock because you have no concept of medicine
>you're just as likely to smash open his head with the rock to let out the evil spirits
>who is weak and who is strong is left up to how quickly and deer can run
>>471687
They were the first farmers. Migratory slash-and-burn agriculture is still common among 'hunter-gatherer' groups in parts of the world where this is possible, as in South America, parts of Africa, and the Oceanic islands.
>>471813
To think people didn't use herbs or have a concept of care or mending wounds is so stupid.
Ancient man's mind and thought process was no different than our own.
>>471868
It had to have been a little different due to the different 'existential exigencies', but the basic architecture was the same, as was the elasticity.
>>471740
Don't forget winter, where they worjed far less.
>>471707
The earliest recorded invasive medical procedures was trepanning. This involved drilling a hole into the skull of the "patient", who was fully awake at the time.
This was believed to expunge malicious spirits. Patients died often.
>you will never undergo trepanation by your tribes god speaker in an attempt to let the demons out of your head
>>472228
Actually it seems many survived and that it was done to remove bone splinters from the brain in case of skull trauma.
>>471768
Why would they ask you to kill yourself, they would just leave you there and move on with their lives (literally)
>>471868
Yeah. I am certain Earth is covered in useful herbs to solve human problems. It is not like we had to help extend the few herbs that were worth a shit.
>>472276
At which point you will either kill yourself or get eaten by wolves.
>>471681
No. Mortality rate was extreamly high in comparison. Especially to random violence.
People in the Middle Ages had more body fat as a result of advances in agriculture. Nowadays, we see this being disadvantageous due to the prevalence of obesity in the West, but back then more body fat was seen as better for ones health, as it showed that you had enough to eat regularly.
>>472276
That's the same.
native Americans (plains Indians) used to do this too IIRC. They'd just send the really old and infirm off to some sacred rock to sit there and die.
>>471681
No, but they had better quality of life than the first agricultural settlements, even height averages went to shit due to poor diet.
>>471681
>Excavation and analysis of over eight hundred Native American skeletons from these burial sites indicate a transition from hunting and gathering to an agrarian economy and significant health changes in the population as a result of this transition.[9] Earlier settlements at Dickson Mounds (950-1050 CE) indicate an economy based primarily on hunting and gathering.
>From 1050-1175, Dickson Mounds underwent a transitional phase, moving towards a mixed economy of hunting and gathering combined with agriculture, particularly the cultivation of maize.[10] The population was also developing more permanent settlements and trade networks.[10] From 1175 onward to about 1350, the population size expanded significantly and developed complex permanent settlements.[10] These changes can be attributed to the increased reliance on agriculture
>The significant lifestyle changes from a small, nomadic, hunter-gatherer society to a large, sedentary, agrarian society resulted in major health changes among the population. After analyzing trends in bone growth, enamel development, lesions, and mortality, archaeologists determined that there was a major decline in health following the adoption and intensification of agriculture.[10] Compared to the hunter-gatherers before them, skeletons of farmers at Dickson Mounds indicate a significant increase in enamel defects, iron-deficiency anemia, bone lesions, and degenerative spinal conditions.
>The decline in health of Dickson Mounds’ population over time can be attributed to the increased reliance on agriculture, which led to a less varied and less nutritious diet, more strenuous physical labor in the fields, and more crowded permanent settlements that facilitated the spread of infectious diseases.
North America before Europeans btw
Do you think they were more at peace with things and spiritually healthy compared to nowadays?
You know, I guess they might have been less troubled after all, maybe just because they didn't have too much time to worry too much about it and still saw some magic in the world.
If you are spiritually at peace, dying sooner shouldn't matter too much.
>>472396
>1050-1175
>The Norman Conquest and the Crusades
>Native Americans only just transitioning to agriculture
>>472493
>>471707
>You will never laugh at Og Ogsson when he cuts his palm when handling his spear
>you will also never see Og Ogssons dead body when said cut got a mild infection.
>>472510
You will never laugh at John Serf when he cuts his palm when handling his sickle
>You will also never see John Serfs dead body when said cut got a mild infection
>>471707
But I've done half of these things.
That's not tribal, that's just life.
>>472509
Yeah, the tribes in Illinois were totally like that too.
>we wuz aztecs an sheeeit
>>472555
>Native Americans only just transitioning to agriculture
>Native Americans
>>472563
Would you autists be happier if I'd have said most native Americans
>>471694
I'm dumb, why is there less disease?
>>472600
I'd guess that it's harder for diseases to spread and persist in smaller and less dense populations.
>>472600
Less humans in one area, No domesticated animals that bring parasites/sickness
No place for vermin to accumulate.
But then again this is my guess and i know jack shit.
>>471681
>be plebe in middle ages
>work the land of my lord all day erry day
>work the private land of my lord for free many days
>local priests come to get their taxes and diddle my son
>daughter gets married and lord exercises ius primae noctis
>local knights rape my wife and I raise their son
>after 20 years of hard labour die of stroke during the summer feast, drunk as fuck
>be unga in stone age
>chase hairy things until I catch them
>catch a big one I can chill for a week
>plenty of time for socializing
>glorious hunting with my bros
you tell me
>>471748
My father is reading this shit and trying to convince me to read it as well.
Is it worth it?
>>472600
less people around
(the reason why people get sick more in the winter is because everyone is indoors and closer together)
>>472430
>the Merina of Madagascar build large tombs of stone, one or more to each village, which represent to them a visible expression of stability and 'belonging somewhere'. This tomb construction is
extremely costly, so much so that any individual is forced to choose his own potential
tomb fairly early in life, shortly after marriage, in order to contribute to regular maintenance
of a tomb, improving its appearance, and refurbishing the concrete. (...) for the Merina tombs are by far the best built and most solid structures in their society, and they contrast greatly with the normal poor, impermanent, shabby dwelling houses. Merina explanation for spending much more on a tomb than a house is that 'one stays much longer in the tomb'.
From Ucko, "Ethnography and Archaeological Interpretation of Funerary Remains"
>>471681
Depends what you mean. If you're talking about the rural population, they certainly worked a bit more than hunter-gatherers. But a lower quality of life? Not really. They had a stable household, there were opportunities to learn a trade and especially after the black death there was a degree of social mobility, whereby peasants could rise up to become part of the rural middle class.
There's evidence of the shift to an agrarian lifestyle causing problems for the few remaining hunter gatherers.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C7%83Kung_people#Recent_history
>>474819
> life literally never improves because no one has invented writing so all knowledge has to be transferred according to how my mushroom-popping shaman remembers it.
>>472493
that's right, it takes more time for generations of humans to walk across asia, siberia, land bridge, down pacific coast, across plains and take up permanent residence on the atlantic coast when they finally took up agriculture. very astute observation, anon.
>>474819
Actually, peasants didn't work much. As in, less than modern people, as far as covering their yearly living expenses went, and then everything was pure profit.
In England, at least, a man with a decent field would have a good life, barring famine or being raided.
>>479201
>Actually, peasants didn't work much.
You need to look into the Germanic and Slavic reinfeudations.
Anyone know any good books regarding people pre-history?
I've seen this recommended.
>>472493
>>476347
Who cares about how long it takes? The Americas didn't have draft animals and so pretty much all their expended energy was human muscle, which was pretty expensive and tended to complain more violently than horses and oxen. Because of that they never had a reason to develop the wheel, and so on. It's no fault of their own.
>>471681
Considering people who live the stone age life today(african tribes, south american tribes) yes
