4 ms·

> Humans do seem to have some the longest life spans on the planet, and that's an important adaptation Most of that is just using medicine and tools, as oppose

by Terr_ 2y ago

> Humans do seem to have some the longest life spans on the planet, and that's an important adaptation Most of that is just using medicine and tools, as opposed to any purely biological longevity factor.

chubot 2y ago
Medicine increased the average life span, but I don't think it increased the maximum very much A lot of figures you see are biased by infant mortality and such Random article I googled - Did Ancient People Die Young? https://www.sapiens.org/biology/human-lifespan-history/ https://www.sapiens.org/biology/human-lifespan-history/ The outliers are the ones who drive history - I am imagining an 80-year-old wise man or woman, 10,000 years ago, who changed history We still don't know how language came about, and how writing came about, and I can imagine that a limited life span / reproductive goals would make those things less likely
- yencabulator 2y ago
  The severity of wounds was very different even just a hundred years ago. It was dramatically different more than some 5000 years ago. These days mortality is heavily based on infant mortality, but 10,000 years back the statistics might be a bit different. I'm sure infant mortality was still a significant factor, but I'd also expect modern medicine elevated its significance a lot. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_wound_care https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_wound_care
  - chubot 2y ago
    Sure, but that changes the average too, not the maximum When I say maximum, I mean that presumably 10,000 years ago, there were people who didn't get sick, didn't get wounded, etc. They died of "old age" How long did they live? There were far fewer of them, but they existed, and were probably productive, passed on knowledge, and moved civilization forward. They could have been leaders, or raised leaders, etc.

4 ms·

> Humans do seem to have some the longest life spans on the planet, and that's an important adaptation Most of that is just using medicine and tools, as oppose

by Terr_ 2y ago

chubot 2y ago
Medicine increased the average life span, but I don't think it increased the maximum very much A lot of figures you see are biased by infant mortality and such Random article I googled - Did Ancient People Die Young? https://www.sapiens.org/biology/human-lifespan-history/ https://www.sapiens.org/biology/human-lifespan-history/ The outliers are the ones who drive history - I am imagining an 80-year-old wise man or woman, 10,000 years ago, who changed history We still don't know how language came about, and how writing came about, and I can imagine that a limited life span / reproductive goals would make those things less likely
- yencabulator 2y ago
  The severity of wounds was very different even just a hundred years ago. It was dramatically different more than some 5000 years ago. These days mortality is heavily based on infant mortality, but 10,000 years back the statistics might be a bit different. I'm sure infant mortality was still a significant factor, but I'd also expect modern medicine elevated its significance a lot. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_wound_care https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_wound_care
  - chubot 2y ago
    Sure, but that changes the average too, not the maximum When I say maximum, I mean that presumably 10,000 years ago, there were people who didn't get sick, didn't get wounded, etc. They died of "old age" How long did they live? There were far fewer of them, but they existed, and were probably productive, passed on knowledge, and moved civilization forward. They could have been leaders, or raised leaders, etc.