title: Field methods for the assessment of health and disease in pre-agricultural societies.
abstract: The few surviving pre-agricultural societies preserve the best available indication of human adaptation during more than 99% of the species' history. The field methods described allow collection of data that may explain why hunters and gatherers are physically small in the face of apparent plenty, what causes their death and how they control population growth. Observations of daily life, especially family, food and work, provide the context within which biological data can be interpreted. Computer-compatible event-recording systems make possible the collection and encoding of quantitative behavioural observations. A careful census permits characterization of fertility and mortality. Physical assessment, by medical history, physical examination and anthropometry, establishes the patterns of growth and development in the population and the prevalence of clinically recognizable diseases and nutritional disorders. If blood, urine or faeces can be collected, lightweight portable field-proven equipment and techniques are available for the collection, analysis and preservation of specimens for biochemical, nutritional, haematological and genetic determinations.
mesh_terms: D000220:Adaptation, Biological; D000885:Anthropology, Physical; D019411:Clinical Laboratory Techniques; D003201:Computers; D003710:Demography; D004032:Diet; D005006:Ethnicity; D005260:Female; D005298:Fertility; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D009026:Mortality; D009749:Nutrition Surveys; D010808:Physical Examination