AHS19

Stone Age humans were not malnourished or disease-ridden, but well adapted to their environment. A pregnant woman was healthier than a modern one and her child benefited as a result. All infants were breastfed; none had been exposed to sexually-transmitted disease, alcohol, nicotine or drugs in the womb. Passage through the birth canal provided protective bacteria. They acquired immune substances in the womb and in breastmilk. Daily exposure to harmless microbes in their environment would prime their immune systems to repel dangerous ones. There were no epidemic diseases among the small, isolated bands who lived 50,000 years ago. Intense physical activity would enable them to develop muscles matching those of modern athletes and thick bones that would never succumb to osteoporosis. Early play prepared boys for hunting and battle; girls learned how to gather as toddlers.