health

is more favorable in indigenous society on account of the generally low population densities and relative social equality which ensure equal access to basic subsistence resources so that everyone could enjoy good nutrition.

John H. Bodley succinctly captures some of the reasons why health conditions tend to be favorable in indigenous societies: '[M]ost importantly, the generally low population densities and relative social equality of small-scale societies would help ensure equal access to basic subsistence resources so that everyone could enjoy good nutrition. Furthermore, low population densities and frequent mobility would significantly reduce the occurrence of epidemic diseases, and natural selection in the absence of the antibiotics, immunizations, surgery, and other forms of medical intervention would develop high levels of disease resistance. Healthy people are those who survive. Tribal societies, in effect, maintain public health by emphasizing prevention of morbidity rather than treatment. The healthiest conditions would likely exist under mobile foragers and pastoralism,whereas there might be some health costs associated with the increasing densities and reduced mobility of settled farming villages' (Bodley 1994: 124).

John Bodley

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John Bodley