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The Ebers Papyrus of about 1550 BCE is among the most important ancient Egyptian medical papyri. It is one of two of the oldest preserved medical documents anywhere, the other main source being the Edwin Smith papyrus (c. 1600 BCE). Another important medical papyrus is the Brugsch papyrus (c. 1300 BCE).
The Ebers papyrus was purchased at Luxor (Thebes) in the winter of 1873–74 by Georg Ebers and is now in the library of the University of Leipzig, Germany.
Medical Knowledge
The Ebers papyrus is written in hieratic script and preserves for us the most voluminous record of ancient Egyptian medicine known. The 110-page scroll contains some 700 magical formulas and remedies. Although it contains many incantations meant to turn away disease-causing demons and other superstition, there is also evidence of a long tradition of empirical practice and observation.
The papyrus contains." It notes that the heart is the center of the blood supply, with vessels attached for every member of the body. The Egyptians seem to have known little about the kidneys and made the heart the meeting point of a number of vessels which carried all the fluids of the body – blood, tears, urine and sperm.
Mental disorders are detailed in a chapter of the papyrus called the Book of Hearts. Disorders such as depression and dementia are covered. The descriptions of these disorders suggest that Egyptians conceived of mental and physical diseases in much the same way.
The papyrus contains chapters on contraception, diagnosis of pregnancy and other gynaecological matters, intestinal disease and parasites, eye and skin problems, dentistry and the surgical treatment of abscesses and tumors, bone-setting and burns.
Examples of Remedies
- Clothing may be protected from mice and rats by applying cat's fat.
- Half an onion and the froth of beer was considered "a delightful remedy against death."
- "For the evacuation of the belly: Cow's milk 1; grains 1; honey 1; mash, sift, cook; take in four portions."
- "To remedy the bowels: Melilot, 1; dates, 1; cook in oil; anoint sick part."
Historical
Like the Edwin Smith Papyrus, the Ebers Papyrus was purchased in Luxor by Edwin Smith in 1862. It is unclear from whom the papyrus was purchased, but it was said to have been found between the legs of a mummy in the Assassif district of the Theben necropolis.
The papyrus remained in the collection of Edwin Smith until at least 1869 when there appeared, in the catalog of an antiquities dealer, and advertisement for "a large medical papyrus in the possession of Edwin Smith, an American farmer of Luxor." (Breasted 1930)
The Papyrus was purchased in 1872 by the German Egyptologist and novelist Georg Ebers (born in Berlin, 1837), for whom it is named. In 1875, Ebers published a facsimile with an English-Latin vocabulary and introduction, but it was not translated until 1890, by H. Joachim. Ebers retired his chair at Leipzig on a pension and the papyrus remains at the University of Leipzig library.
See also
External links
- Brief note of Ebers and the papyrus
- Univ. of Leipzig's catalog description (German), photograph
- Indiana University: Medicine in Ancient Egypt
Bibliography
- Reinhold Scholl, Der Papyrus Ebers. Die größte Buchrolle zur Heilkunde Altägyptens (Schriften aus der Universitätsbibliothek 7), Leipzig 2002; ISBN 3-910108-93-8.
"Ebers papyrus"