In Teutonic mythology the Middle Earth was wrapped round by the Midgard Serpent. Above this the gods built their mansions in the sky. Yet, curiously, in the lower world there lived all those people...
The mortuary temple of Ramesses II is one of the most magnificent temples in the Theban necropolis in Upper Egypt. It was discovered by Jean-Francois Champollion, the same man who deciphered the...
Seven hundred small glass and ceramic bottles containing ancient medicines have been discovered during excavations in Turkey. The medications include 1,300-year-old antidepressant pills and drugs for...
Andreas Vesalius was a physician and anatomist who lived during the 16th century AD. Up until this point of time, the standard authority on anatomy was the work of Galen, a 2nd / 3rd century Greek...
Are you looking for time-tested cures for a hangover? Fear not: these Greek and Roman remedies to alleviate a hangover or prevent one could come in handy. In the ancient understanding of the body,...
The term hasawa means ‘ she of birth' , and might have originally been used to refer to midwives. But hasawa is also a name applied to old, wise women. According to the few resources which described...
The ancient Greeks are widely seen as having been the founders of Western medicine more than 2,000 years ago. But since then our understanding of the human body and how to treat it has changed beyond...
There is an urban legend fueled by the movie Beverly Hills Cop that people have around 5 pounds of undigested meat in their stomach by the time they are middle-aged. Not so. But bezoars, which are...
Medicine wheels, known also as sacred circles or sacred hoops, are monuments constructed by certain Native American cultures by laying stones in a particular pattern on the ground. The most basic...
A clinic, a morgue, and burial chambers are being excavated in the ancient city of Philadelphia in central Turkey, where archaeologists have found surgical instruments and two moon symbols on statues...
Galen of Pergamum was one of the most renowned physicians that the Roman Empire had ever produced. In addition to being a celebrated physician, Galen is said to have also been a philosopher. Unlike...
The development of antibiotics and other antimicrobial therapies is arguably the greatest achievement of modern medicine. However, overuse and misuse of antimicrobial therapy predictably leads to...
It is undeniable that Michel de Nostredame (more commonly known as Nostradamus) is most renowned for his published collection of prophecies known as Les Prophéties , or in English as The Prophecies...
There is much more to archaeology than just learning about our past. The study of the ancient world has also led to astounding discoveries that may have real utility in the modern day. As well as...
Ayurveda, known also as Ayurvedic medicine, is an ancient medical system that has its roots in India, and has been considered by many as one of the oldest healthcare systems in the world. In today’s...
The period from the 8th century until the 13th century AD is commonly referred to as the Islamic Golden Age. During this era, the Islamic world produced numerous scholars who contributed greatly to...
A mummy uncovered at the ancient site of Cusco in Peru has surprised scientists with what was contained in its gut. Genes linked to antibiotic resistance have been found in the Pre-Columbian mummy’s...
The discovery that won the latest Nobel Prize for Medicine wouldn’t have been much of a revelation to doctors in ancient China. Pharmaceutical chemist Tu Youyou established that the compound...
Toxicology is a branch of knowledge dealing with the scientific study of the characteristics and effects of poisons on living organisms. The man considered to be the ‘father’ of this discipline is...
It has been found that the more cannabis that modern foraging tribes smoke, the less they are infected with parasitic intestinal worms. Scientists are trying to determine if ancient-hunter gatherers...
Ancient Greeks, Vikings, Caucasians, prehistoric Siberians and Mongolians, and ancient Chinese emperors were all taken with the medicinal properties of the wild herb Rhodiola rosea (golden root or...
The skull of a man who was beheaded in the 15 th century was at the center of a mystery until experts revealed the cranium was harvested to be used as medicine. Within the crypt of Italy’s Otranto...
Scientists have discovered four more tattooed lines on ‘Ötzi the Iceman’, a 5,300-year-old mummy, bringing the total number of tattoos to 61. Researchers are still divided over whether the tattoos...
Plastic surgery seems to be an invention of the modern age. The desire to attain physical beauty is no doubt one of the factors that has contributed to the popularity of this procedure. Apart from...
