Ancient Near Eastern and Mediterranean MedicineCross-file under New Book.
Although the various cultures of the ancient world had different expressions for symbiotic anatomy, they all understood the body as a messaging system between the different communities of the anatomy, the supernatural realm, and humans. Whether it was an animal attacking a person, a curse from an angry neighbor, or an attack from a ghost after wandering into the wrong place, all derived from the supernatural world sending a message to the afflicted. It is important not to assume these were necessarily punishments but signs that a normal social order had broken down.
See Also: Ancient Medicine: From Mesopotamia to Rome (Eerdmans, 2019).
By Laura Zucconi
Professor of History
Stockton University
January 2020
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