Zombie Apocalypse In Ancient And Modern Times – How Realistic Is An Infectious Disease Outbreak?
– Did our ancestors fight and survive an ancient zombie apocalypse? Can a zombie apocalypse really happen, and if it does, what are our chances of survival?
If you have seen the movie the Night of the Living Dead, you know zombies are walking dead suddenly coming back to life. In the movie survivors barricade themselves in an old farmhouse in an attempt to remain safe from these flesh-eating monsters.
But how realistic is the scenario in real life?
The term zombie can be traced to Haitian folklore where a zombie is a dead body reanimated through various methods, most commonly magic.
Zombie is a word of West African origin. In the voodoo religion of West Africa, a zombie was a also snake-god.
During the 18th and early 19th centuries, many slaves were brought to Haiti and other parts of the Caribbean. They brought their religious beliefs and practices with them and the term zombie was first recorded in English in 1819.
The stories of zombies spread through the USA and Europe and during the 20th century the subject became so popular the many fictional movies and horror books were produced.
Archaeologists have found many mysterious skulls that some suggest are a sign ancient people fought and survived a zombie apocalypse or at least were terrified of living dead.
Archaeologists have unearthed detached skulls at many Stone Age sites in Europe and the Near East sites. Several skulls buried underneath an ancient settlement in Syria were found detached from their bodies with their faces smashed in.This archeological discovery is a scientific mystery with many unanswered questions.
Strangely, many of the 10,000-year-old skulls appear to have been separated from their spines long after their bodies had already begun to decompose. Evidence suggests that the skulls were exhumed and detached from their bodies several years after originally being buried. It was then that they were smashed in and reburied separate from their bodies.
Why would this skull-smashing ritual be performed so long after individuals had died? Did they only pose a threat to the living long after their original burial and death? Who were these beings that had been dead for so many years and still feared?
Mysterious Skulls Linked To An Ancient Zombie ApocalypseAccording to zombie mythology, the walking dead are hungry for the flesh of the living, and the only way to stop them is with a head shot. In many zombie movies, this involves shooting them in the cranium.
The frontal lobe must be damaged because the zombie acts on base impulses, like pursuing and eating other people. Other brain damage accounts for the lack of motor coordination and general poor manners, according to the zombie research society.
How could Stone Age people know the only way to kill a zombie was by damaging the cranium?
Most scientists do not consider a zombie apocalypse to be very realistic, but there are various parasites that are extremely dangerous and can damage our brain and blood and a global infectious disease outbreak is highly possible.
Reports of the Zika virus have been widespread recently. Zika virus disease is caused by a virus transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes.
Like the 2014 Ebola epidemic and numerous fictional zombie viruses, the disease seems to have spread much faster and farther than any treatment or containment efforts. Zika has also been linked to Guillain-Barré syndrome and microcephaly; a neurodevelopmental disorder that can severely impair the development of the brain or central nervous system.
In Northern Uganda, approximately 3000 children have become afflicted with what has been called “nodding disease,” or more colloquially “zombie disease.” It only affects children who later create a fire and then launch themselves into it.’
Research conducted by a student at the University of Leicester suggests a zombie apocalypse would wipe out humankind in just 100 days. After zombie infection spread less than 300 people would remain alive globally.
A zombie invasion is still distinctly fictional by comparison to real-life public health challenges. However, many people still fear a zombie outbreak and there are even online manuals how to survive a zombie apocalypse.
No matter what the truth might be, one thing is clear – Zombies have always been a source of fascination and fear.
it should be mentioned that zombies should not be confused with the walking dead syndrome. There are a number of people who actually believe they are dead. The Cotard delusion, also known as the Walking Corpse Syndrome, is a rare mental disorder that convinces people that they’re walking, rotting corpses with missing organs. Some patients suffering from ‘Walking Corpse Syndrome’ have died of starvation since they deprived themselves of food thinking that they are already dead. The patients also have a tendency to attempt suicide and harm themselves.