James DeBouse, age 11, of Shreveport, Louisiana, for his question:

Did early man suffer from modern diseases?

Archeologists have made detailed studies of the fossilized remains of early man and found evidence that he did suffer from many of the diseases that still plague modern man. Even after thousands of years, the bones bear scars. There are ridges to show where a bone was fractured and later healed itself. Many early men suffered from arthritis and other painful diseases of the joints. The fossilized remains of ancient Egyptians prove that our early ancestors tried to cure their complaints  ¬and often succeeded. Several skulls have been found that show signs of skillful bone surgery, perhaps to relieve pressure on the brain.

Fossilized bones reveal the normal aging process known to both modern man and his earliest ancestors. An ancient skeleton tells how long its owner lived. It can also tell whether the living owner was well fed. Many ancient remains prove that early man often went hungry and the bones of his hungry children often were deformed by malnutrition. We have less direct evidence, but the earliest human families may have suffered from measles and virus infections similar to the diseases that still pester the modern world.