Classics 2902 Ancient Medicine Approved Week 1 Introduction Exam 2026

CLASSICS 2902 CLASSICS 2902 Classics 2902 Ancient Medicine Approved Week 1 Introduction Exam 2026 What is a primary source? - -A primary source is any piece of evidence (such as a document, artifact, literary work, or manuscript) that was created during the time period under examination What is a secondary source? - -A secondary source is a work (such as an article or textbook) that comments on, discusses, or cites a primary source. Secondary sources were usually written after the time period under discussion. What is BCE? - -Before the Common Era (or BC- Before Christ) count downward What years are 4th century BCE? - -years 399-300 BCE What is CE? - -Common Era (AD "Anno Domini" after the birth of christ) count upward* What is second century CE? - -years 100-199 CE What are 6 problems with sources of ancient medicine? - -- Only a fraction of the medical works still exist (have to piece together the existing works) - Greek heiarchy in society affected literacy rates (only high class people were literate and could write) - Passage of time (much evidence is lost with time) - Experiential medicine and oral traditions - Biases of scribes: copying and recopying (what was copied and recopied comes down to the intrest of the individual and economic factors) - highly specialized works often lost 3 types of sources - -- written texts - art - physical evidence 5 types of written texts - -- treatises CLASSICS 2902 - letters - inscriptions - poetry - papyri (early form of a book) 3 types of art sources - -- (vase) paintings - statues - reliefs 3 types of physical evidence - -- artifacts and tools - archaeological sites and buildings - human remains 6 factors influencing the transmission of sources - -- natural disasters, fires, warfare, etc - monasteries picking what is transcribed: empirical works lost (what was transcribed came down to their bias about what was worth preserving) - latin medical works from before 350 AD lost - Greek East: scarcity of medical and science books copied from 650 AD - book roll to codex (all works not changed to codex were lost) - 850 AD: changes in greek handwriting made earlier manuscripts less accessible 5 saving graces of medical works - -- Galenism: Galen's view on authenticity of Hippocrates and valuable treatises - printing press - 1499 (Venice): greek medical works printed - books printed from survived - Papyri finds and new translations of previously lost manuscripts 6 problems with studying ancient medicine - -- isolationist view (many studies don't show how each area makes up a culture of medicine) - cultural view of Hiippocrates as "founder/father' of medicine centers histories o the disipline around him (ignoring everything before him) - ignore near eastern and mediterranean practices and interplay between medicine and theology CLASSICS 2902 CLASSICS 2902 CLASSICS 2902 - modern scholars lacking skillset: linguistic, historical, archaeological (unable to study/ distigusish ancient practices) - limited intest in understanding acienct medicine - rational medicine vs. Magic, superstition, religion What is a problematic binary in the study of ancient medicine? - -"rational" vs. "magic/supernatural" These approaches existed side by side and are both valid What is a problematic/derogatory term used when describing ancient medical practicies? - -"primitive" Reduction and causation ideologies - -Causation: seek single entity causing disease; e.g. Germ, gene (idea is that if you know the cause you can find a treatment) Reduction: separate pathogen from patient; problem is that focus becomes on the bacteria/ virus and the patient becomes secondary) What is the problem with investigating ancient medicine though the scientific method (reduction/causation)? - -leaves no room for the supernatural approach, large portions of ancient medicine dismissed Anthropological approach - -relationship between disease, patient, and healer new approaches to studying ancient medicine DO and DONT's - -Do: wider, integrated perspective on human interaction and culture (look at rational thought behind medical practices reconciling natural world and cosmology) Dont: narrow, natural world- point of view What is the anthropological definition of health - -balance between people, nature, and supernatural Anthropological generalization of health - -absence of disease culturally defined definition of health - -fitting into a statistic health = fitting into ___________ - -health = fitting into CULTURALLY DEFINED CATEGORIES what are the 2 spheres of analyzing health? - -personal (how someone perceives their own status) CLASSICS 2902 communal (how others perceive someones status, how does someone fit into the norm) Mix of personal and communal spheres depends on culture Disease is _________ defined - -disease is culturally defined What is the generalization of disease? - -disease = deviation from the norm What is the goal of treating disease - -restoration of health And restoration into society and re-establishement of community cohesion What disruption is caused by disease - -disruption to communal sphere (which must be fixed) How may restoration into society from a disease also be achieved? - -may also be achieved by moving the sick into a new category "disabled" (problematic) What is medical pluralism? - -the availability of different approaches, treatments, and institutions that people use to maintain health or treat illness (ancient societies had lots of healers to choose from) What does healing consultation depend on? - -a variety of factors including economics, location, perception of disease, etc) More than one healer can be consulted 4 main types of ancient health care practitioners - -- physicians - root cutters ("sorcerers") - drug traders/sellers/makers - obstetricians Greek and latin names for physicians - -greek: iatros/iatroi Latin: medicus/medici Greek name for root cutters/"sorcerers" - -rhizotomos Greek and latin names for obstetricians - -greek: maia Latin: obstertrix 5 types of textual evidence of diseases - -- coughs, diarrhea, conjunctivitis - physical deformities CLASSICS 2902 CLASSICS 2902 - bad teeth - reproductive health (esp. Child birth) - combat wounds 5 types of archeological evidence of disease - - - bad teeth - anaemia - degenerative joint diseases (including arthritis) - physical deformities - combat wounds 2 ways of identifying ancient patterns of disease - -- malnutrition - epidemics CLASSICS 2902