Doctors, Drugs, and Death in Ancient Egypt

Doctors, Drugs, and Death in Ancient Egypt

Overview

Ancient Egyptian civilization flourished in the fertile valley of the Nile. Physicians flourished there as well, especially in the centuries between 2000 and 1200 B.C. Much of Egyptian medicine was based on little more than superstition. However, doctors gained some skill at treating wounds, and documents from the time refer to hundreds of different drugs that were then in use. Many of these were likely useless or even harmful, but some have proven to be effective at preventing bacterial infection. The Egyptians also developed skill at fighting bacteria beyond the grave (even though they had no knowledge of these microorganisms). Their mummification process helped to protect corpses from decay—a ritual that not only involved biology but also religion and politics as well. Some of the concepts of Egyptian medicine would live on in later civilizations, such as those of ancient Greece and Rome.

Background

One of the ways scientists and historians have learned about ancient Egyptian medicine is by studying the writings their physicians left behind. The Egyptians were one of the first civilizations to develop a system of writing. Using the fibers of a plant called papyrus, they made a parchment-like paper.

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