Dr Samuel taiwo alawode samueltaiwo@windsor.edu HISTORY OF MEDICINE Dr Samuel taiwo alawode samueltaiwo@windsor.edu

“NOTHING more difficult than a beginning" On the marble “The longer you can look back, the further you can look forward” Winston Churchill And remember: “NOTHING more difficult than a beginning"

Course Overview This course provides a brief introductory survey of the history of medicine from the earliest time known to man (principally in Egypt, Greece, Roman, Arab, Europe and the United States) from classical antiquity to the early twentieth century. Relying on the primary and secondary sources used and analyzed by various authors, effort is made to learn about how humanity make progress from the antiquity; faith and healing in the medieval period until the present day advanced medical practice.

Aims and Objectives To have a brief and retrospective appreciation of belief system, events and people that shaped the practice of medicine from the past to present. To equip future medical physicians and researcher with opportunity to situate present-day medical ideas, practices and institutions within a broader historical context. To learn and eventually practice medicine within the frame work of historical perspective. To provide understanding of the progress and current dilemmas facing modern medical science and clinical practice today.

Course Outline Introduction to History of Medicine Tools of History - Primary and Secondary Sources Medicine in pre-historic times Ancient Egyptian medicine Medicine in Mesopotamia and Babylon Medicine in ancient China Medicine in ancient India

Course Outline Medicine of ancient Greece – cradle of European medicine, school of Hippocrates Physicians of the Antique Roman Empire Islamic medicine Medicine in Cordoba - meeting point of Islamic, Jewish, and Christian medical knowledge Medicine in the Middle Ages first medical universities Medicine in the period of renaissance Medicine in the period of enlightenment

Tools of the Historian History forms the basis of all knowledge and is a convenient avenue of approach to any subject of study.

Definitions  The science and art dealing with the maintenance of health and the prevention, alleviation, or cure of disease.

Definitions Historians make a serious and systematic attempt to explain the past and attempt to use the knowledge they gain to help explain human nature and contemporary affairs.”

Historians organize history By dividing it into blocks of time known as periods or eras. Into periods like decades, centuries, or time periods that are given names.

To date events Before the birth of Christ or B.C., historians count backward from the year 1. After the birth of Christ or A.D., historians count forward starting at the year 1. THERE IS NO YEAR 0!!!

Historians make sense Of the flow of dates and events by putting these things in chronological order, or the order of dates in which events happened. By putting these events on a timeline or a diagram that shows the order of events in a time period.

Historians rely on Calendars or dating systems created by the people of the past to measure time. Most of these calendars were created based on important events.

Timelines Are usually evenly spaced and labeled with events. Can be single lines or multileveled.

Evidence Anything within the range of the historian’s experience-document, opinion, monument, artifact, tradition, and so on-that can be used as a basis for statements about the past; often called “sources.” Sources are artifacts that have been left by the past. They exist either as relics, what we might call “remains,” or as the testimonies of witnesses of the past.

The material that historians rely on are classified as: Historians study A variety of sources to learn about the past including artifacts and documents. The material that historians rely on are classified as: Primary sources: These are first hand pieces of evidence from the people who saw an event. Secondary sources: Which are created after the event by someone not involved.

Historians also look for Who, what when, where and why a document was created Whether or not the document is credible or truthful. Whether or not the document is biased or has an unreasonable point of view.

Summary Historians put all the pieces of information together to interpret and explain events in the past.

Tool of History Archaeology, or archeology, is the study of human activity in the past, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts (also known as eco-facts) and cultural landscapes (the archaeological record). 

The role of Archaeologist Archaeologist helps to discover and investigate human past, from human evolution to the present day. By studying archaeology we can find out about how people spent their lives, where they lived, the clothes they wore and the food they ate. Archaeology can uncover the religions, burial customs and beliefs of past societies. Through artefacts and excavations, extraordinary details of the daily lives of past generations can be investigated. Archaeology offers a perspective on broad topics, such as how different societies identified and organised themselves, how they co-existed and interacted with other communities and how they perceived and used the physical landscape in which they lived.

PRIMARY SOURCES IN HISTORY

Primary sources Primary sources record the actual words of someone who participated in or witnessed the events described or someone who got his or her information from participants.

Secondary sources Secondary sources record the findings of someone who did not observe the event but who investigated primary evidence.

Primary Sources

What are primary sources? Original records from the past recorded by people who were: Involved in the event Witnessed the event, OR Knew the persons involved in the event They can also be objects (artifacts) or visual evidence. They give you an idea about what people alive at the time saw or thought about the event. Keep in mind that a primary source reflects only one point of view and may contain a person’s bias (prejudice) toward an event.

Examples of primary sources: Personal Records Printed Publications Newspapers Diaries Journals Magazines Records Books

Examples of primary sources: Visual Materials Visual Materials Sculpture Film Maps Drawings Photographs Paintings

Examples of primary sources: Songs and Poems Artifacts Tools Poems Ornaments and other Objects Songs

An Ancient Egyptian love poem written in about 1500 BC. "It is seven days from yesterday since I saw my love, And sickness has crept over me, My limbs have become heavy, I cannot feel my own body. If the master-physicians come to me, I gain no comfort from their remedies. And the priest-magicians have no cures, My sickness is not diagnosed. My love is better by far for me than my remedies. She is more important to me than all the books of medicine."

An Ancient Egyptian spells "These words are to be spoken over the sick person. “O Spirit, male of female, who lurks hidden in my flesh and in my limbs, get out of my flesh. Get out of my limbs!" This was a remedy for a mother and child.” This was added at the end of this cure: "Come! You who drives out evil things from my stomach and my limbs. He who drinks this shall be cured just as the gods above were cured.” ‘This spell is really excellent – successful many times.’ It was meant to be said when drinking a remedy. This was a remedy for people going bald: "Fat of lion, fat of hippo, fat of cat, fat of crocodile, fat of ibex, fat of serpent, are mixed together and the head of the bald person is anointed with them.

Archaeological digs have also found evidence of men titled physicians Archaeological digs have also found evidence of men titled physicians. The hieroglyphics on the door to the tomb of Irj described him as a physician at the court of the pharaohs. Irj lived about 1500 BC. He was described as a: "palace doctor, superintendent of the court physicians, palace eye physician, palace physician of the belly and one who understands the internal fluids and who is guardian of the anus."

What are secondary sources? Secondary sources are made at a later time. They include written information by historians or others AFTER an event has taken place.

What are secondary sources? Although they can be useful and reliable, they cannot reflect what people who lived at the time thought or felt about the event. But they can represent a more fair account of the event because they can include more than one point of view, or may include information that was unavailable at the time of the event.

Examples of secondary sources: Textbooks, biographies, histories, newspaper report by someone who was not present

Examples of secondary sources: Charts, graphs, or images created AFTER the time period.

Name that Source! The following slides contain examples of primary and secondary sources. See if you can classify each example as a primary or secondary source.

Classify these: primary or secondary?

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The End

“A primary source is firsthand testimony or direct evidence concerning a topic under investigation. The nature and value of the source cannot be determined without reference to the topic and questions it is meant to answer. The same document or other piece of evidence may be a primary source in one investigation and secondary in another. The search for primary sources does not, therefore, automatically include or exclude any category of records or documents.”

Written Transmissions Books Journals Letters Annals Dissertations Public records Census data Eyewitness accounts Scripture Inscriptions Newspapers Diaries Chronicles Government documents Personal or institutional papers Genealogies Manuscripts Laws Scrolls Period literature and poetry

Oral Transmissions Speeches Anecdotes Sagas Oral histories Music Interviews (not videotaped) Ballads Legends Telephone conversations Recordings (tape & records) Myths From Using Internet Primary Sources to Teach Critical Thinking Skills in History Craver, Kathleen, D 16.2 .C79 1999, p.19

Visually Transmitted Sculpture Photographs Portraits Maps Cartoons Coins Videotapes Films Posters Engravings Models & dioramas Woodcuts Architecture Etchings Relics Historical paintings Artifacts Computer generated graphics

Electronically Transmitted Faxes Electronic mail Machine readable databases [Web pages]

All Things Considered Authenticity Reliability Disagreement

What evidence do historians rely on to help measure time? rulers computers calendars Water tables

What were most historical calendars based on? Important events Birthdates of the pharaohs Wars Tree rings

What important event is the Western calendar based on? Crop rotation Lunar cycles Season changes Birth of Jesus

What does B.C. mean? British Columbia Big Clock Birth of Christ Before Church

What does A.D. mean? After death Anno Domini Another day Always done

How do historians organize history? Into days Into blocks of time like decades Into files Into countries

How do historians organize history? By region By political times By chronology By event importance

What type of diagram do historians use to display history? Pie chart Bar graph Textbook A timeline

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