General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: The medications that change who we are [View all]defacto7
(13,485 posts)than they did is possible but not known. I'm more aware of ancient Egypt on the subject. There are competing theories usually tainted by ideology but the data is pretty clear with anomalies. The life "expectancy" of Egyptions around 2000 BCE was 29 for women and 32 for men not as an average but by examination. The elites lived a bit longer but not by much excluding anomalies. The mortality among women and children was definitly high but once children reached maturity they could expect 20 more years as a peasant, possibly 30, occationally 40 if an elite. Ancient Egyptians were malnourished for the most part subsisting on bread, beer and occasionally meat. There was a high incidence of diabetes, tooth decay, parasites and exposure to environmental toxins from metals throuout the classes. Again, whethere they were capable of living as long as we do now is unknown. The point is they didn't.