In a brilliantly satirical take on modern wellness culture, cartoonist Becky Barnicoat has turned her eye to the distant past. Her latest cartoon, published in The Guardian, offers a humorous guide to 'prehistoric wellness tips', imagining how our ancient ancestors might have approached self-care.
Decoding the Ancient Regimen
The cartoon presents a series of illustrated panels, each depicting a different aspect of primal living reinterpreted as a wellness trend. Barnicoat cleverly subverts contemporary health fads by framing basic survival activities from the Stone Age as intentional, holistic practices.
The cartoon was published on 3 January 2026, providing a sharp, witty commentary at the start of the new year. It taps into the ongoing public fascination with ancestral health, paleo diets, and returning to a more 'natural' way of living, pushing these concepts to their logical and absurd extremes.
Key 'Tips' from the Stone Age
Barnicoat's work highlights several 'prehistoric wellness' activities. These are not genuine historical advice but a mirror held up to modern routines. The imagined tips likely include concepts like foraging for berries as a mindfulness exercise, outrunning predators as high-intensity interval training, and gathering around a fire for community bonding and digital detox.
The artist, Becky Barnicoat, is known for her sharp observational humour and distinctive illustrative style. Her work regularly features in The Guardian, where she comments on social trends, politics, and everyday life with a unique blend of wit and insight.
A Reflection on Modern Trends
The core of the cartoon's humour lies in its juxtaposition. It asks the reader to consider how much of our pursuit of wellness is a response to the very modern world we've created. By presenting the harsh realities of prehistoric life as aspirational goals, Barnicoat prompts a laugh and perhaps a moment of self-reflection about the sometimes paradoxical nature of the wellness industry.
The piece serves as a cultural critique, suggesting that in our search for health and happiness, we sometimes romanticise a past that was overwhelmingly concerned with sheer survival. It reminds us that the drive to optimise every aspect of our lives is, in itself, a very modern preoccupation.
Ultimately, Becky Barnicoat's prehistoric wellness cartoon is more than just a joke. It is a clever piece of social commentary, using humour to question the endless cycle of trends and the human desire to find simple, ancient solutions to complex, modern problems. It underscores the timeless truth that while our challenges evolve, our capacity for both folly and insight remains constant.
