Anthropological

Foundation of Nursing
By: Ivy Glenn M. Victoria
Prehistoric Times
Ancient history is the study of the written
past from the beginning of recorded
human history in the Old world to
the Early Middle Ages in Europe.
The span of recorded history is roughly
5,000 years with Cuneiform script (oldest
form of writing).
30th century B.C. (Protoliterate period) –
beginning of history
Classical antiquity
Ancient history since the beginning of
recorded Greek history in 776 BC
(First Olympiad).
Roughly coincides with the traditional date of
the founding of Rome in 753 BC, the
beginning of the history of ancient Rome, and
the beginning of the Archaic period in ancient
Greece.
476 A.D.
• Fall of the Western Roman Empire
• Death of Justinian I
• the coming of Islam or the rise
of Charlemagne
• end of ancient and Classical European
history
In India, the period includes Middle
Kingdoms
In China the time up to the Qin Dynasty
Philippine Prehistoric Times
 25000 B.C. – Ancient
Negroid people immigrate
to the Philippines over a
land bridge connecting the
archipelago to the Asian
mainland, they are food
gatherers, hunters and
forefathers of today’s
Negritos (used bow and
arrows, stone made
implements and they lived
in caves.)
5000 B.C. to 3000 B.C. “New Stone Age” –
sea faring Malays from what is today
Indonesia come to the archipelago (brought
polished stone tools, boat building, bark and
animal skin cloth making, pottery, rice
planting, the process of cooking rice in
bamboo tubes, techniques in making fire by
rubbing two sticks, they move out of caves
and lived along the coasts and rivers.)
 3000 B.C. to 1000 B.C. – a second wave of
Malay immigrants arrives by sea (ancestors of
today’s Ifugao, Bontoc, Mangyans and other
primitive tribes, intoduced the animist religion
and jar burial, metal tools made from copper,
bronze, iron and gold.)
 200 B.C. – more civilized Malays in large
numbers migrated in the Philippines (racial
stock of the majority of today's Philippine
populace)
200 B.C. to 1000 A.D. “Iron Age” –
artistry in all aspects of life begins.
Earings, beads, pendants and bangles are
made of clay, stone and shells are
developed. Body tattooing is used as well
as filing and blackening teeth which were
then wrapped with gold foil or studded
with gold fillings.
 1000 A.D. to 1200 A.D. “Porcelain Age” – trading
begins extensively with Arabia, India, Annan,
China and with the Europeans. Porcelains from
different Chinese dynasties are imported.
 1200 to 1300 - Migrants from Borneo spread into
the Southern Philippines.
 1300 to 1400 – The Hindu empire of Majapahit on
Java gains influence over parts of the islands.
 1380 – Islam reaches the Southern Philippines
via Borneo. In Islamic areas, slavery is in the
following year’s widely replacing head-hunting.
 1450 – The Muslim sultanate of Jolo is
established on the islands between Borneo and
Mindanao.
 1475 – The Muslim sultanate of Maguindanao is
founded on Mindanao. Islam spreads throughout
the archipelago and even reaches central Luzon.
 Science and Technology
 Inthe history of
technology and ancient
science during the
growth of the ancient
civilizations,
ancient advances were
produced
in engineering. These
advances stimulated
other societies to adopt
new ways of living and
governance.
 Ancient Egypt
Technology is indicated by
a set of artifacts and
customs that lasted for
thousands of years.
Egyptians invented and
used many simple machines
Developed maritime
technology in the
Mediterranean including
ships and lighthouses.
India
Science and technology dates back to ancient
times
Used hydrography, metrology and sewage
collection and disposal
Pursued Ayurveda, metallurgy, astronomy
and mathematics
 Hindu-Arabia
Practiced plastic surgery and cataract surgery
Invented the Hindu-Arabic numeral system and
Wootz steel
 China
Had significant advances in science, technology,
mathematics and astronomy
Recorded the first observation of comets and
supernovae
Invented and practiced traditional Chinese medicine,
acupuncture and herbal medicine
Ancient Greece
Technology developed at an unprecedented
rate during 5th century B.C. up to and
including the Roman period and beyond
Invented the gear, screw, bronze casting
techniques, water clock, water organ, torsion
catapult and the use of steam to operate some
experimental machines and toys.
Rome
Most advanced set of technology of their
time, some of which may have been lost
during the turbulent eras of Late Antiquity and
the Early Middle Ages
Feats of many different areas, like civil
engineering, construction materials, transport
technology, and some inventions such as the
mechanical reaper went unmatched until the
19th century.
 Ancient Medicine or Tradition in
Medicine
 Hippocratic Corpus
A collection of ancient
Greek medical texts attributed
to Hippocrates and written
probably in the late 5th century
BC.
Gives a reconstruction of the
development of medicine
Assuming that it was an
outgrowth of the discovery by
ancient people that health could
be promoted by the consumption
of certain foods prepared properly
What is Anthropology?
 Anthropology is the study of humankind
 Studies all facets of society and culture
 Studies tools, techniques, traditions, language,
beliefs, kinships, values, social institutions,
economic mechanisms, cravings for beauty and
art, struggles for prestige
 Describes the impact of humans on other
humans
 Focuses on human characteristics generated and
propagated by humans themselves
Physical Anthropology
studies anatomy and biology -- race, gender,
and adaptation
studies humankind as a biology type
describing physical development over the
millennia
Linguistics
studies the structures of language and historic
relationships among them
Ethnology
Studies human culture in a historic and
comparative perspective
Has subfield that concentrates on myth,
music, and folklore to study human geography
and human passage in time
Applied Anthropology
uses anthropological knowledge and expertise
to deal with modern problems
aids in impact studies of technological
innovations, public health schemes, or
economic development patterns
can be important in the design of work
stations, cockpits, airplane seats
Anthropological Background of
Nursing
Since the beginnings of time, nursing has
been shaped by different cultures and
societies and by the changes within those
societies.
“Nutricius” – Greek word meaning
nourishing
Role of caring than a Profession
In the world history of nursing, roots can
be traced to;
1. Religion
2. Mythology
3. Eastern societies
4. Western societies
Egyptians perhaps utilized the first formal
nurses.
Among the Greeks and Romans, it was
believed that gods and goddesses
influenced healing.
The women of the family of Asclepius
were mythological nurses.
Hygeia – goddess of health
In the Roman Empire, Roman
noblewomen cared for the sick.
During the middle ages, care of the sick
was seen as a function of the church.
Nursing care was provided by both men
and women and was segregated by sex
with persons caring for others of the same
gender.
War has had the greatest influence upon
the world history of nursing, for
historically it has been through war that
the demand for nurses has been the
greatest.
Florence Nightingale
It was through her experiences with war that
the first formal theories and training schools
for nurses were developed and nursing began
to rise to the status of a profession.
 Nursing continues to evolve and be shaped
as a body of science and has made great
professional strides since its inception. The
world history of nursing reveals that nurses,
whether formal or informal have long filled a
needed place in society. Nurses now are
needed more than ever before. Now, as
today's nurses shape the world history of
nursing, we look forward to the respect the
profession deserves.
Applying Anthropology to Nursing
Medical Anthropology
dedicated to the relationship between human
behavior, social life, and health within an
anthropological context
provides a forum for inquiring into how
knowledge, meaning, livelihood, power, and
resource distribution are shaped and how, in
turn, these observable facts go on to shape
patterns of disease, experiences of health and
illness, and the organization of treatments
focuses on many different topics
including ;
1. political ecology of disease
2. the interface of the micro- and macro-
environments that affect health
3. the politics of responsibility as it relates
to health
4. gender and health
5. the moral
6. political and interpersonal contexts of
bodily suffering
7. the social meanings of disease categories
and ideals of health
8. the cultural and historical conditions that
shape medical practices and policies
9. the social organization of clinical
interactions
10. the uses and effects of medical
technologies
In applying Anthropology to the
profession of nursing we would be
looking into;
1. Health
2. Disease
3. Illness
4. Sickness
in human individuals which would be
undertaken from the holistic and cross-
cultural perspective
This is distinctive of anthropology as a
discipline, which is, with an awareness of
their;
1. Biological
2. Cultural
3. Linguistic
4. Historical uniformity and variation
As a nurse we would study;
1. the health
2. health problems
3. human responses
which occur as a result of life processes
 Emphasis would be placed on the nursing
process as a systematic method of assisting
clients to attain, regain and maintain
maximum functional health status.
Thank you for listening…

Godbless…