Health and the Rise of Civilization

by Mark Nathan Cohen

• ISBN13: 9780300050233
• ISBN10: 0300050232
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Trade Paper
• Copyright: 1991-07-24
• Publisher: Yale University Press

Summary

Civilized nations popularly assume that 'primitive' societies are poor, ill, and malnourished and that progress through civilization automatically implies improved health. In this provocative book, Mark Nathan Cohen challenges this belief. Using findings from epidemiology, anthropology, and archaeology, Cohen provides fascinating evidence about the actual effects of civilization on health, suggesting that some aspects of 'progress' create as many health problems as they prevent or cure.

Table of Contents

Preface	vii
Images of the ``Primitive'' and the ``Civilized''	1	(6)
Behavior and Health	7	(9)
The Evolution of Human Society	16	(16)
The History of Infectious Disease	32	(23)
Changes in the Human Diet	55	(20)
Health among Contemporary Hunter-Gatherers	75	(30)
The Evidence of Prehistoric Skeletons	105	(25)
Conclusions	130	(13)
Notes	143	(82)
Bibliography	225	(46)
Index	271