Article
ID: CBB807723808

Ancient Mesopotamian views on human skin and body: a cultural–historical analysis of dermatological data from cuneiform sources (2020)

unapi
Medical literature Skin diseases Cuneiform inscriptions Human body Dermatology Ancient Mesopotamia

Most recent advances in the study of ancient Mesopotamian medical texts have disclosed information pertaining to the fields of diagnosis, prognosis and therapy and are now available for a comparative study with other ancient medical systems. However, in the framework of Assyriological studies there are still methodological problems that need to be addressed. Disregarding a retrospective diagnostic approach, this paper aims at highlighting the cultural–historical relevance of the medical information reported in cuneiform texts, assuming data related to skin imperfections and ailments as a case study. After a brief overview of the sources from ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern cultures that may be referred to the modern medical specialty of dermatology, the specificities of Mesopotamian medicine and dermatology will be presented. Two examples, dedicated to the reconstruction of the ancient Mesopotamian view on the skin and the body, will demonstrate how relevant sources may be fruitfully analysed in a cultural–historical context.

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https://data.isiscb.org/isis/citation/CBB807723808/

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Authors & Contributors
Steele, John M.
Carlo Gelmetti
Robson, Eleanor
Horowitz, Wayne
Clark, Kathleen M.
Yasuyuki Mitsuma
Journals
Sciamvs: Sources and Commentaries in Exact Sciences
British Society for the History of Mathematics Bulletin
Medicina Historica
Technai, An International Journal for Ancient Science and Technology
Vesalius
Revue d'Histoire des Mathématiques
Publishers
American Philosophical Society Press
University of Chicago Press
Springer
Oxford University Press
Brill
Aleteiia
Concepts
Cuneiform inscriptions
Astronomy
Tablets; papyri
Constellations; zodiac
Mathematics
Skin diseases
Time Periods
Ancient
Early modern
Renaissance
Medieval
Bronze age
21st century
Places
Mesopotamia
Middle and Near East
Assyria
Italy
Babylon (extinct city)
United States
Institutions
Ashmolean Museum, Oxford
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