? starter activity

1
? starter activity
What sort of information can skeletons tell us
about the health of ordinary people in the past?.
2
How healthy were pre-historic people?
? Aims

• To find out about health medicine in a
  prehistoric settlement
• To compare life in prehistoric times with
  surviving ancient tribes today

3
? Your task
Data sheet

• Read about the Tomb of the Eagles on the Orkney
  Islands.
• What was so astonishing about this site? Note
  down 5 astonishing facts. Compare what you have
  chosen with your neighbour.
• Copy the chart on p.8 and answer the questions
  using sources 1-3.

4
Isbister

• Site discovered by chance by John Simison in
  1958
• Site had been buried for 1000s years
• Range of personal items, e.g. buttons, weapons
  knives
• 5000-year-old burial place with 16,000 bones
• Simison was self-taught archaeologist
• Bones included eagle talons hence tribal name,
  Eagles

5
? Your task

• How can information about modern day tribes help
  us understand life in pre-historic times?
• Read the information on modern day Aborigines to
  complete the table. Discuss questions 3-5 in your
  chart with your partner.
• Read p.12 and complete your chart.

6
? Your task

• Produce a health safety poster for the people
  of Isbister with pictures and labels explaining
  how to treat headaches. Your poster must explain
  these 4 problems
• What you might think caused the headache
• Who you could see about the problem
• How you would have been treated
• How well the treatment may have helped you

7
? Extension task

• Could healers in pre-historic times help people
  who were sick? Include the following points in
  your answer
• Different kinds of healers
• Medical knowledge about causes of sickness
• Different methods of treatment
• Problems of pain
• Problems in answering this question