1.1 Did Prehistoric
people get ill?
IN THIS LESSON YOU WILL:
• Find out about the key features of the Prehistoric period
• Practice your skills in working out just what a source is evidence for.
What is prehistory?
GETTING STARTED
For historians, a prehistoric society is one without
writing. Although the prehistoric period does not
have a definitive starting point and finishing point,
historians usually say it started about 500,000 years
ago. All of the evidence we are studying, however,
comes from the last 20,000 years.
Compare Sources A and B.
Is this all you need to answer the question which is the
title of this page?
How could you improve the answer?
Prehistoric people lived throughout the world. Not
all peoples in the world left the prehistoric period at
the same time. Once writing developed in a society,
that society was no longer prehistoric. So Britain was
still prehistoric long after Egypt and the Middle East,
where writing developed much earlier.
The earliest prehistoric peoples had the following
features in common.
• They were nomads.
• They were hunter gatherers – so they got all their
food without farming.
• They lived in small groups without complicated
political arrangements. There were no separate
countries.
• They had a very simple level of technology
– spears, bows and arrows, axes, knives and
scrapers were their main tools. All of these were
made from wood, bone and stone.
• They had no system of writing.
Over thousands of years things changed slowly. The
most important changes were the development of
farming (which meant people stayed in one place)
and metal tools.
18000 BC
15000 BC
Old Stone Age
12000 BC
2 OCR GCSE Schools History Project
9000 BC
Source b
A prehistoric human femur
(thigh bone) showing a
growth on the bone.
Source A
A healthy human
femur (thigh bone)
ACTIVITY
1 Explain which common features of prehistoric peoples
a Might have affected their ability to develop medicine?
b Might affect our ability to find out about their
medicine?
New Stone Age
6000 BC
3000 BC
Bronze Age
0
Iron Age
AD
2000
DID PREHISTORIC PEOPLE GET DISEASE?
Because we don’t have any writing from the
prehistoric period, the evidence we use presents
very special problems. We have two main sources
of evidence – the remains of the people themselves,
and the remains of the things they made.
Surviving prehistoric skeletons can tell us quite a
lot. Archaeologists and doctors have studied them
and found traces of diseases that still affect us today.
Obviously many diseases would only show up in
organs or flesh, which don’t survive, but others can
be seen in the bones. For example, Source B above
shows a bone cancer. Other bones show evidence
of diseases like anaemia, which are caused by poor
nutrition. Also skeletons show evidence of the sorts
of injuries we are still familiar with, broken bones
and damaged joints and backs.
GradeStudio
AO3a
Using the evidence given in this unit say whether
each of the following statements are definitely true,
possibly true, or definitely not true, and give reasons
for your answer.
1 Some prehistoric people suffered from disease.
2 All prehistoric people suffered from disease.
3 Prehistoric people who got diseases were treated by
medicine men who wore an antler mask.
This exercise is about the way sources can be used as
evidence to back up a statement. There are three main
possibilities:
• The source does not back up the statement.
• The source does support the statement, but it is not
enough to prove it completely.
• The source proves the statement must be true.
It is always important to be clear whether a source
supports or proves.
Source C
A cave painting made by prehistoric people in France about
15,000 years ago. We cannot be sure exactly what this painting
shows. The painting is hard to see, and has deteriorated since it
was first found. This modern drawing of the cave painting makes
clear the outline of a man with antlers, possibly wearing a mask.
Fact file!
Cave Paintings
In some parts of the world prehistoric paintings have
survived. The paintings show things we think were
important to prehistoric people – usually the animals
they hunted, and sometimes a hunt itself. Some
paintings, like Source C, show other things. Source C
is one of a number of prehistoric paintings that show a
man with antlers on his head, sometimes standing in
a circle with twelve other men. Some historians think
this shows a religious ritual, others that it might show a
medicine man.
1.1 Did Prehistoric people get ill? 3
v
GradeStudio
How far did Roman law and order
improve between 451 BC (the
beginning of the Empire) and AD 565
(the end of the Empire)?
Instructions
Examiner’s tips
You have just looked at the start of law and order and now have a good
understanding of how Rome tried to keep the peace. You have also being
practising a key skill needed to achieve at GCSE: change and continuity.
In this section you will learn to plan out and write a quality answer for
an exam question.
Below is a table to help you structure your first change and continuity
question. Use the prompts and tips to help you build your answer.
Once you have looked carefully try to write an answer of your own to
the question at the top of this page.
Change and continuity questions
usually begin with…
How far did [the subject in question]
change between [a range of dates]?
For change and continuity questions
there are two main things to think
about:
• Always have some changes and
some continuity to talk about –
• The question says ‘How far…’ so the
examiner will want to see that you
can make a judgment about what
changed and what did not. Your
conclusion is important
What should I write
about?
My answer
Structure and Tips
PARAGRAPH 1
Change in Rome
• The Decemviri
• The Twelve Tables
• Justinian Law
e.g. ‘The Decemviri were appointed to
record the laws and make sure that
everyone was clear about how to
behave in public, private and politics.
The would mean…’
Write about each of the points and explain
how they changed law and order in Rome
PARAGRAPH 2
Continuity in Rome
• Corruption
• Policing
• Power with individuals
e.g. ‘The Decemviri became corrupt,
especially Appius Claudius…Justinian
was only appointed because his uncle
was Emperor and not because he had a
good understanding the law’
Write about each of the points and explain
how they brought continuity to law and order
CONCLUSION
• Judgement
• Supporting evidence
• Key point?
e.g. Law and Order did not improve
that much because policing shows
that methods were the same from
AD6 onwards. They were only used
on specific occasions like when there
was a riot. In everyday life people had
to catch criminals and bring them to
court. Justinian did change they laws,
but did not make it any easier for
people to stop crime happening’
Try to make a judgement: how much had
changed? Was there more that changed or
more that stayed the same?
4 OCR GCSE Schools History Project
At the end of your paragraph, create a miniconclusion by referring back to the question.
At the end of your paragraph, create a miniconclusion by referring back to the question.
Can you explain why this is?
Are there one or two reasons for this that
are more important than the others? Why?
Model Answer
Rome was a large Empire and had many people in its care.
It would be difficult for anyone to make sure that people were
safe and that all crime was dealt with. Roman rulers had
other concerns too, and so law and order was often a low
priority and left to ordinary people to organise. Despite this,
some improvements were made during the time of the
Roman Empire.
The Decemviri were appointed in the 5th Century BC to record
the laws and make sure that everyone was clear about how
to behave in public, private and politics. This would mean that
law and order did improve because people would be sure of
the laws and the consequences for breaking them. To enforce
this, the Twelve Tables were introduced and displayed. They
were taught in schools so that everyone knew the rules. In AD
529 he collected together all the important laws from across
the Empire and also produced a textbook on Roman Law.
This shows that the law was being updated and changed to
help people use and understand it. There was more law in AD
529 and so Rome needed someone like Justinian to collect it
together. This was a big improvement for Rome.
However, after introducing the Twelve Tables the Decemviri
became corrupt, especially Appius Claudius. He tried to use his
power to get a girl, but it ended in tragedy. Also, Justinian was
only appointed because his uncle was Emperor and not because
he had a good understanding the law. This means that law
and order was not improving steadily, it was just left to each
individual and they could make good decisions, like Justinian,
or bad ones like Appius. Policing also shows that there was little
change. The Praetorian guards, vigiles and urban cohorts
were there all the way through the Empire. There were no new
measures and people had to do a lot themselves.
Law and Order did not improve that much because policing
shows that methods were the same from AD6 onwards.
The police were only used on specific occasions like when
the Urban Cohorts were used when there was a riot. In
everyday life people had to catch criminals and bring them
to court. Justinian did change the laws and make it easier
to understand, but did not make it any easier for people to
stop crime happening. So, even with the improvements to
understanding made by Justinian, people still had the same
experiences of law and order in AD565 that they did in 451BC.
Examiner says
Level 2
Identifies or describes change or continuity of
Roman Law
Using specific knowledge, but having no explanation,
like in this first paragraph, will get you a level 2.
Sentences will state clear facts but not link them
directly to the question.
Level 4
Explains change or continuity of Roman Law
Writing up to this point, with some carefully selected
examples of change would put you into level 4 and
give you more than half the marks available
Level 6
Explains change and continuity of Roman Law and in
addition makes informed assessment about ‘how far’
law had improved.
If you want to reach the top level, you need to
look at both sides of the argument and say exactly
how far, e.g. ‘So, even with the improvements to
understanding made by Justinian, people still had
the same experiences of law and order in AD565
that they did in 451BC.’
Now that you have read about
law and order in Roman times
you need to think about that big
question:
Is Britain more violent and
crime-ridden than ever before?
Remember the impression of the
police and courts that built up in
pages xx–xx and the limitations
you said that they had.
Grade Studio 5