Final answer:
The San Ju/'hoansi (!Kung) had lower rates of disease compared to industrialized societies due to their small, nomadic groups that limited disease spread, lack of contact with disease-carrying domesticated animals, and a lifestyle that minimized exposure to ailments common in larger, settled populations.
Step-by-step explanation:
In Dr. Lee's studies of the San Ju/'hoansi (!Kung), one of the reasons why they had lower rates of disease than the rates of industrialized societies is due to their lifestyle and population dynamics. The San people, who are seminomadic hunter-gatherers, lived in small groups, which reduced the potential for large-scale transmission of infectious diseases. Unlike large, sedentary, urban populations, the San did not live in conditions that supported the spread of pathogens such as influenza, the common cold, measles, cholera, typhoid, and plague, mainly because there weren't enough humans in close proximity to maintain such infections.
Another factor was their direct interaction with the environment, which provided them with a diverse diet and constant movement, reducing exposure to environmental contaminants and animal wastes that in larger agricultural societies often led to the spread of diseases. Furthermore, they lacked the domesticated animals that were responsible for transmitting numerous diseases to humans in more developed societies. Consequently, before contact with Europeans, indigenous peoples like the San would not have suffered from many infectious diseases that were prevalent in Europe due to lack of prior exposure.