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It is well-known that ancient civilizations struggled with basic issues such as food shortages, widespread diseases, tattered clothing, and poor living conditions. The presence of human waste was an unavoidable reality.
However, ancient cultures also confronted more unusual difficulties. These ranged from consuming fungi for nourishment to exposure to lead and battling bedbug infestations, showcasing the unexpected challenges of history.
10. They Were Forced to Eat Fungi
The Pueblo people, located in the southwestern United States, began their agricultural journey around 400 BC. Over the following 800 years, maize became their staple food, providing 80 percent of their daily caloric intake.
The Pueblo people primarily relied on a diet of maize, with occasional yucca or rarely some rabbit meat, which should have led to malnutrition. However, they did not suffer from the expected pellagra, a condition often caused by nutrient deficiency.
Their unexpected source of nutrition came from the maize-infecting Ustilago maydis fungus, also known as corn smut. While it's seen as a nuisance today, in ancient times, it was intentionally consumed as it increased protein levels due to its essential amino acid profile. This fungus, called huitlacoche, is still enjoyed in Mexico today.
9. They Had to Share Their Beer
Recent chemical analysis has confirmed that beer was a favored beverage in ancient Mesopotamia. Researchers examined artifacts from Khani Masi, now in the Kurdish region of Iraq, and found traces of beer dating back to between 1500 and 1000 BC.
Mesopotamian beer was similar to ours, brewed from barley, unlike the rice or corn-based ‘beer’ of ancient Chinese and Peruvian cultures. However, the drinking customs were quite different. Rather than using individual cups, the Mesopotamians drank from large communal containers, sipping from long, metal-tipped straws dipped into the brew.
Eventually, the Mesopotamians began drinking from personal, handheld vessels as social practices evolved. These containers could hold up to 600 milliliters (20 oz) of beer, nearly the equivalent of two modern beer bottles.
8. Even Ancient People Were Exposed to Lead
Even Neanderthals experienced lead exposure, as scientists discovered traces of lead in the teeth of two Neanderthals from southern France.
Researchers examined teeth because they are similar to tree rings. Just like trees add a new growth ring each year, fetuses and infants develop a fresh layer of enamel daily. These layers trap the chemicals that individuals were exposed to during their development.
From their studies, researchers determined that the 250,000-year-old Neanderthals likely ingested lead during colder periods. Oxygen isotope ratios suggest that the Neanderthals faced harsher autumns and winters, with their children suffering from malnutrition and illness during these times.
The lead exposure was probably from contaminated food or water, or from inhaling fumes from fires as the Neanderthals often lived in caves that contained subterranean lead deposits.
7. Everyone Had Parasites
A great deal can be learned from studying ancient dried feces. For example, 700-year-old parasites were found in stool samples taken from 31 medieval latrines in Lubeck, Germany.
Lubeck, one of the busiest ports during the Middle Ages, was home to people whose intestines were infested with tapeworms and roundworms, a consequence of their diet, which included improperly cooked freshwater fish.
The stool samples also reveal a shift in the types of parasites, indicating that around the year 1300, the residents began eating more meat. This dietary change may have been linked to the rise of leather-making and butchery, industries that polluted the local freshwater environment.
6. They Had Holes Drilled Through Their Skulls
The ancient Chinese had extensive knowledge of diseases and documented many ailments and their symptoms on bones or tortoise shells. They even practiced craniotomies more than 3,000 years ago.
Archaeologists excavating the Ruins of Yin uncovered two skulls with drill holes. One of these skulls belonged to a 10-year-old boy, who had a circular 1-centimeter-wide (0.4 in) hole. The bone showed signs of healing, suggesting that the boy survived the surgery, possibly due to it or despite it. The operation was likely carried out with bone needles, four of which were found at the site.
This discovery is not the first of its kind, as 13 other ancient Chinese skulls with multiple perforations were previously uncovered in ruins located in Xinjiang.
5. Women Were Not Exempt from Violence
Women were not exempt from violence in ancient times, as demonstrated by a study of 378 Scandinavian skulls dating from 3900 BC to 1700 BC, spanning the late Stone Age, a period marked by the rise of agriculture.
The study revealed that up to one in six of these Stone Age skulls bore evidence of violent injury. Nearly 10 percent of Swedish skulls and 17 percent of Danish skulls showed signs of trauma, with women equally as likely as men to suffer fatal head wounds.
This finding challenges the assumption that women were protected from violence. Researchers speculate that these injuries resulted from local conflicts, family disputes, or raids.
4. They Were Victims of Bedbug Infestations
Bedbugs have been around much longer than we might think, as revealed by recent discoveries at the Paisley Five Mile Point Cave in Oregon. Inside the caves, researchers unearthed the oldest known members of the bedbug genus.
The ancient bedbug fragments found in the caves date back 11,000 years, surpassing the previous record-holder, a 3,500-year-old specimen from Egypt discovered in 1999.
Unlike the bedbugs we typically think of, the ones found in Oregon were parasitic to bats, not humans. Researchers believe these creatures likely fed on and bothered humans when the caves were seasonally inhabited by hunter-gatherers.
3. They Consumed Their Dogs
The Xoloitzcuintli, also known as the Mexican hairless dog, has been around for about 3,500 years, making it one of the most ancient dog breeds.
In the Aztec language of Nahuatl, ‘Xolotl’ referred to the god of death and lightning, who was said to have created the breed, while ‘itzcuintli’ simply means ‘dog.’
The Aztecs held these dogs in high regard, seeing them as guides and protectors for the dead, helping souls travel through Mictlan, their version of the afterlife. In areas like Colima, Nayarit, and Jalisco, small Xoloitzcuintli figurines were found in 75 percent of burials.
Although the Aztecs cherished their hairless dogs, they also ate them as a delicacy... because history can be brutal. When the conquistadors arrived, they too consumed the xolo, nearly driving the breed to extinction.
2. They Had Surprisingly Poor Dental Health
At the Grotte des Pigeons caves in Taforalt, Morocco, a communal burial site revealed 52 adults who lived between 15,000 and 13,700 years ago—and their terrible dental health.
Only three of the remains had no cavities. More than half of the teeth showed signs of decay, with 49 out of 52 having cavities. This is comparable to modern humans with diets high in refined sugars.
Pre-agricultural people don’t typically suffer from such severe tooth decay, but it skyrocketed with the introduction of domesticated grains like barley and wheat.
However, these hunter-gatherers seemed to snack frequently and heavily relied on nuts, acorns from North Africa, legumes, and oats. They likely used a grinding tool found at the site to turn these foods into flatbreads or sticky porridges that would cling to teeth, feeding bacteria that cause cavities. bacteria
1. Entertainment Options Were Limited
Despite their busy lifestyles, people in the Bronze Age experienced boredom. And when they were bored, their entertainment options were few. One game that quickly spread from the Near East was known as 58 Holes, or Hounds and Jackals.
Researchers discovered a “game board” carved into a 4,000-year-old rock shelter in Azerbaijan. The game consisted of rows of dots, typically totaling 58. Players would roll dice to move their pieces, aiming to reach the top hole.
Hounds and Jackals may have been a precursor to backgammon and undoubtedly served as a social tool to help different groups exchange cultures.
