Ancient Statistics History in a Nutshell

Abstract

This chapter is entirely devoted to the historical roots of human interest of chance, from gambling activities and theories to the role of insurance companies, the medical aspects of vaccination, the notion of legal evidence or even the existence and intervention of some divinity. Conjoined to several human practices, the philosophical aspects implied into the notion of hazard are explored which were found initially in gambling or predictive rituals, most of them from a religious context.