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Stone age cities: what modernurbanites could learn frompaleolithic humansHowever civilised we may now consider ourselves to be, biologically we

remain much as we were before we began farming and moved into cities. Can

we create a healthier future by returning to our paleolithic past?

Gustav Milne

Monday 23 May 2016 11.42

BST

The city is not our natural habitat. For the last three million years, weevolved as hunter-gatherers, living in small tribal societies, breathingfresh air, drinking fresh water and eating fresh foods. But more thanhalf of us now live in cities. Culturally, our society is transforming, butanatomically, our genetic evolution is slower: we remain much as wewere even before large-scale farming was adopted 5,00010,000 yearsago.

However civilised we may now consider ourselves to be, biologicallywe are much closer to our stone age ancestors. There is a majormismatch between our modern urbanised world and our paleolithicgenome, the genetic material encoded in our DNA, which supports anancient hunter-gatherer lifestyle.

Put simply, urbanisation which began with the advent of farming isbad for us. Studies of skeletal remains in cemetery sites show thatwhen the Romans introduced town life to Britain 2,000 years ago, theyalso introduced us to scurvy, rickets, osteomalacia, Reiters syndrome,gout, ankylosing spondylitis, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis,septic arthritis, tuberculosis, osteitis, poliomyelitis and leprosy. And

today, the most common causes of death in half of our urbanpopulations are obesity, cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes,

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More analysis

programme and Arsenal-in-the-Community team do similar work,aiming to improve social cohesion and reduce crime and drug abuse:the latters project on the Elthorne Park estate saw a 66% drop in youthcrime in just three years.

City planning for human evolutionSome wider concerns can be best addressed by town planning. To helppeople walk more, for example, cities can focus on pedestrianisationprojects, car-free walkways, river walks, canal towpaths, widening andgreening pavements, improving security, cycle lanes, speed limits andabove all, air quality our ancient lungs cannot cope with dieselparticulates.

Parks, playing "elds and sports facilities are vital, as are low-fatbuildings and active work practices such as standing desks, cycleracks and showers. The design of o#ces should encourage walking,with a showpiece stairway rather than just doors to the lift. Gooddietary practice at the o#ce extends to the canteen menu and thecontents of drinks machines.

The design of residential buildings in a high-density city should be

limited to six stories, and have at least some outside space, amplewindows and sunlight. O#ces, streets, domestic buildings and thepublic realm all need to be greened, externally and internally.Houseplants, window boxes and roof gardens all have a positive role toplay; as do participatory urban green spaces such as allotments,community gardens and city farms, especially in inner-cityneighbourhoods lacking a large central park.

Our paleolithic immune systems and psyches desperately need suchsupport. The town may not be our natural habitat, but we can make itour optimal one.

Gustav Milne is an honorary senior lecturer at University CollegeLondons Institute of Archaeology. He presents Urban Wellbeing: How toLive a Paleolithically-Correct Life in a 21st Century City on 24 May at12noon, as part of the week-long UCL Festival of Culture in London.


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Evolution Biology Urbanisation Health Fitness More

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