British News (Non Trump for a change)

[Scot Dutchy]

Clothing is very important and the modern wash machine and modern washing materials have made massive differences.

[Brian Peacock]

Yeah, and they all died at a ripe old age - in their 30s.

That's a mis-reading of statistics. It's infant mortality that drags down human life expectation figures in primitive societies. That, and death in childbirth.
There's no evidence to show that high numbers died in their 30s, even though they lived in much more dangerous times. I suppose predators took some sort of toll, as well as rival clans, so it would have been higher than today. But it's not likely that it was lack of showering that did it.

Life expectancy for chimpanzees is 40 to 50 years in the wild, as it happens. And humans are longer lived, if they survive to age ten.

The evolutionary bullet we had to dodge, from prehistory right up to the 20th century, was not the threat from overwhelming violence like warfare or predation, but the stealthy assassin of infection. And of that it was often our teeth that did for us in the end.

[mistermack]

The evolutionary bullet we had to dodge, from prehistory right up to the 20th century, was not the threat from overwhelming violence like warfare or predation, but the stealthy assassin of infection. And of that it was often our teeth that did for us in the end.

Actually, signs of tooth decay was rare to unheard of in the stone age, up to very recently.
There have been some recent finds of localised signs of tooth decay. It seems to be down to the emerging practice of cooking stuff. Makes the carbs more sticky.

Infection was of course common. But that's because of a rougher outdoor lifestyle. And you don't need warfare for violence to erupt. Back in those days your own family would probably be pretty violent too.