What Did Ancient Humans Do When Someone Broke a Bone

Ancient humans had no hospitals, no X-rays, no casts, and no surgeons. And yet the fossil record is full of broken bones that healed perfectly. In this illustrated documentary, we explore the ancient world's remarkable medical response to fractures, from the Shanidar Cave Neanderthal who survived catastrophic injuries sixty-five thousand years ago, to the botanical pain management and sophisticated splinting techniques documented across every forager culture on Earth. This is the story of humanity's oldest medical tradition, and what it reveals about care, survival, and what made us human. Subscribe to @TheIllustratedHuman for weekly hand-drawn essays on human origins, anthropology, and evolutionary psychology. #AncientMedicine #Survival #Anthropology #HumanOrigins #AncientHumans #EvolutionaryPsychology #PrehistoricLife #HistoryExplained #TheIllustratedHuman