In my research paper for this class I plan to discuss medicinal practices in Ancient Egypt. I know this topic is broad, but I plan to refine and narrow my focus as I continue my research. I am thinking I will probably end up writing about how Ancient Egyptian medical practices evolved over time. As I have researched this particular topic I have been amazed at the amount of medicines, treatments, and even surgeries that the Ancient Egyptians had practiced. Not only did they have these medical treatments and surgeries available, but according to the articles I have found, it would seem that they practiced these things quite frequently.
The first scholarly article I found was about amputations as a form of treatment in Ancient Egypt. This text discusses four specific cases of amputation. What is even more amazing than simply the fact that Egyptians were performing amputations so long ago, is that all four of these cases were all found in ONE archaeological site. This would tend to suggest that the practice of amputating limbs was not uncommon. I am very pleased I found this article because it has a lot of thorough information about the evidence of amputation. There are even pictures and diagrams included as well, which has only helped me to better understand the treatment and thought process that most likely went into this form of medical practice.
Next, I found an article that was published in the Journal of Investigative Surgery. This scholarly work focused not only on Ancient Egyptian medical practices, but also the ways in which Egypt influenced surrounding cultures. The Egyptians influenced Greek medicine, and from there is said to have spread to the rest of the world. I plan to use this particular piece of writing to better explain certain medical practices and the sophistication of the Ancient Egyptian ways (for that time period). I could also use this to back up any claims I may make about the advanced medical skills of the Egyptians, because clearly other cultures learned from them and wanted to use their techniques on their own people.
Lastly, I focused on an article that discusses both medicine and surgery in Ancient Egypt. It is written by Justin Barr in the Journal of Vascular Surgery. In this article, Barr writes about a variety of different practices, and goes into detail about the practitioners as well. This was the first article I found to really delve into those who act as “doctors”. I intend to use this information in my research paper to give my readers a better understanding of all aspects of Ancient Egyptian medical practices. Barr also mentions the specific medical papyri that has been studied to help unlock the secrets of Egyptian medicine and surgery.
I would also like to note that in every one of the articles mentioned above, that there are references to pictures of Ancient Egyptian artwork or hieroglyphs that are presumed to be referencing medical procedures. I may at some point in my paper have to include that when it comes to these artworks and hieroglyphs that a lot of personal interpretation may have gone into these analysis. Not totally sure yet if I will have to include this warning or not.
Sources:
Barr, Justin. “Vascular medicine and surgery in ancient Egypt.” Journal of Vascular Surgery, (vol. 60, issue 1): pages 260-263.
Dupras, T.L., Williams, L.J., De Meyer, M., Peters, C., Depraetere, D., Vanthuyne, B. and Willems, H. (2010), “Evidence of amputation as medical treatment in ancient Egypt.” International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, 20: 405-423. doi:10.1002/oa.1061
Rabia Shabir Ahmad, Muhammad Bilal Hussain, Farhan Saeed, Marwa Waheed, Tabussam Tufail. (2017) “Phytochemistry, metabolism, and ethnomedical scenario of honey: A concurrent review.” International Journal of Food Properties 20:sup1, pages S254-S269.
I think narrowing your research focus will definitely help with the initial research process, especially with a topic so broad. Even doing it on how medical practices evolved over time may be too broad, maybe focus on one surgical practice and how it evolved or varied between different Egyptian cities and cultures. Focusing on amputation, investigative surgery, and medicine might yield frustrating results and a very chaotic research paper. I would say pick one that is the most interesting to you and run with it.
I am not too surprised that they practiced amputation as it could often mean a life or death situation. With all of ancient Egypts delicate and religious mortuary practices it is not surprising that they often had somewhat advanced medical practices as well or that they influenced many cultures surrounding them. Focusing on this aspect of their medical practice would be fascinating as well, and seeing how the origination of a medical practice changed over cultures and time.
Researching more on one specific medical aspect would really be helpful I think as it could give you a wide answer on both medical processes and cultural practices surrounding that one surgical or medical practice.
I think you have a great proposal idea. I am a biomedical major so this is very interesting to me. To make sure your paper is not too broad you might want to consider picking specific time periods to look at when mentioning the change of medical practices. In your sources you mostly found practices that are still done today, but do you plan to include practices that do not exist anymore? For example, ancient Egyptians used dog or donkey stool to cure injuries and ward off evil spirits. The Egyptians had several unusual practices for treatment such as the one I mentioned above. If you could find any information on why they did amputations and surgeries that would be interesting too. Were any of the surgeries for cosmetics? Did they amputate because they thought the patient was infected with a bad spirit? What was their reasoning in doing their treatments? In your proposal you had mentioned that your second source included who the practitioners were, to add to this I would include what the requirements were to be a practitioner if any. Ethics would also be interesting to know more about. What were the limits and how did these medical practices come to be what we know today? Many Egyptians praised deities and magic during the earlier times, so how popular were medical practices? How long did it take for practitioners to be credited? If you could find any information on how successful their treatments were I would include the statistics. I think your paper will be great once you narrow down your time period or a specific treatment.