Environmental Pollution and Human Health in Ancient Times

https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-444-52272-6.00439-6Get rights and content

Throughout human history, there have been a handful of times when major changes/transitions in human relationships with the environment occurred, and these thresholds have had major implications on health and cultural development. This article concentrates on changes in burdens of environmentally attributable diseases that accompanied the hunter-gatherer → agriculture → urbanization transitions in ancient times. The transitions mark the threshold in a gradually accelerating process – a continuum of human interference with the natural cycles that tends toward greater levels of ecological disequilibrium. A growing trend in prevalence of respiratory diseases associated with indoor air pollution from use of fuel wood is highlighted. The literary and archaeological evidence for deplorable conditions of water pollution and urban sanitation and their effect on the health of ancient populations are summarized. Ancient time can be considered an epoch for environmental refugees that were created by a confluence of environmental stress, land degradation, and desertification in the very fragile regions of the world where most of the ancient civilizations sprouted. The vulnerability to environmental shocks and susceptibility of the Mediterranean region to drought, overpopulation, and famine created the conditions for conflicts (especially for wood and mineral resources), which fed on political, tribal, or ethnic differences that presumably contributed to failed states and crashed civilizations in this region.

References (0)

Cited by (7)

  • The world's lead-zinc mineral resources: Scarcity, data, issues and opportunities

    2017, Ore Geology Reviews
    Citation Excerpt :

    One of the major challenges facing the world's Pb-Zn sector is managing environmental pollution issues within statutory guidelines amid ever increasing community expectations. Historically, Pb in particular is renowned for negative health impacts on workers as well as users, especially where direct contact was made (e.g. mining or cosmetics; see Finkelstein et al., 2014) – or Pb was used with indirect contact (e.g. Pb pipes for water were used extensively in the Roman empire; e.g. Nriagu, 2011). Furthermore, Pb exposure represents a significant risk to infants and young children, as Pb accumulating in blood will affect their intellectual development, especially their mental and cognitive functions (Canfield and Jusko, 2008).

  • The Augustan aqueduct of Capua and its historical evolution

    2017, Water Science and Technology: Water Supply
View all citing articles on Scopus
View full text