A day in the life of an ancient Egyptian doctor - Elizabeth Cox | Summary and Q&A

TL;DR

Peseshet, a swnw or doctor in ancient Egypt, treats various ailments using medical knowledge from the House of Life, including broken bones, scorpion stings, and pregnancy tests.

Key Insights

• 👨‍⚕️ Ancient Egyptian doctors, like Peseshet, relied on natural remedies such as honey, garlic, and herbal extracts for treatment.
• 😷 Medical training in ancient Egypt involved studying as a scribe and learning from the medical papyri stored in the House of Life.
• 🕵️‍♀️ The role of a female doctor, or swnw, was essential in ancient Egypt, and female doctors trained and taught other female swnws.
• 💊 Ancient Egyptian medicine incorporated spiritual elements, such as using incantations and invoking deities like Serqet and Hathor for healing.
• 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Gender disparities existed in ancient Egyptian medical education, with boys having more opportunities to become doctors compared to girls.
• 😷 Medical knowledge in ancient Egypt covered various ailments, including broken bones, scorpion stings, and tumors, but not all conditions had effective treatments.
• 😷 The House of Life served as a hub for scribes, priests, doctors, and students, storing not only medical papyri but also other records.

Transcript

It’s another sweltering morning in Memphis, Egypt. As the sunlight brightens the Nile, Peseshet checks her supplies. Honey, garlic, cumin, acacia leaves, cedar oil. She’s well stocked with the essentials she needs to treat her patients. Peseshet is a swnw, or a doctor. In order to become one, she had to train as a scribe and study the medical pa... Read More

Questions & Answers

Q: What were the essential supplies that Peseshet used to treat her patients?

Peseshet used honey, garlic, cumin, acacia leaves, and cedar oil as essential supplies to treat her patients.

Q: How did Peseshet become a doctor in ancient Egypt?

Peseshet became a doctor by training as a scribe and studying the medical papyri stored at the Per Ankh, the House of Life in ancient Egypt.

Q: How did Peseshet treat a broken arm?

Peseshet binds and immobilizes the broken arm of a temple construction worker, providing first aid to stabilize the injury.

Q: What was Peseshet's fail-safe pregnancy test?

Peseshet's fail-safe pregnancy test involved planting two seeds, one barley and one emmer, and urinating on them daily. If the plants grow, it predicts pregnancy, with barley foretelling a baby boy and emmer indicating a girl.

Summary

This video provides a glimpse into the life of Peseshet, a swnw or doctor in ancient Egypt. She is well-versed in medical practices and utilizes her knowledge of herbs, spells, and incantations to treat her patients. Peseshet faces various challenges, such as an injured laborer, a scorpion sting, and determining if a woman is pregnant. We also learn about the societal roles and gender inequalities that existed during that time. Although Peseshet strives to provide effective treatment, she sometimes encounters cases where there is no known cure, highlighting the limitations of her medical knowledge.

Questions & Answers

Q: What supplies does Peseshet check before treating her patients?

Peseshet checks various supplies including honey, garlic, cumin, acacia leaves, and cedar oil. These are the essentials she relies on to treat her patients effectively.

Q: How did Peseshet become a swnw or doctor?

Peseshet underwent training as a scribe and studied the medical papyri stored at the Per Ankh, also known as the House of Life. This extensive training and education allowed her to become a skilled doctor in ancient Egypt.

Q: What is the significance of Peseshet teaching her own students at the Per Ankh?

Peseshet passing on her knowledge to her own students is a reflection of her expertise as a doctor. It demonstrates her position of authority and her contribution to the preservation and advancement of medical practices in ancient Egypt.

Q: How does Peseshet handle a patient with a broken arm?

Peseshet arrives at the construction site and finds that the worker's arm is clearly broken with multiple bone fragments. She immediately binds and immobilizes the injury to provide stability and support for the broken bones.

Q: How does Peseshet deal with a scorpion sting?

When a woman's son has been stung by a scorpion, Peseshet knows exactly what to do. She must say an incantation and invoke Serqet, the patron of physicians and the goddess of venomous creatures. Peseshet recites the spell as if she is Serqet herself, maximizing the chances of success. She also tries to physically remove the poison by cutting it out with a knife.

Q: How does Peseshet determine if a woman is pregnant?

Peseshet explains her fail-safe pregnancy test. She instructs the woman to plant two seeds, one barley and one emmer, and then urinate on the seeds every day. If the plants grow, it indicates pregnancy. A barley seedling predicts a baby boy, while emmer foretells a girl. Peseshet also recommends a prayer to Hathor, the goddess of fertility.

Q: Why does Peseshet have mixed feelings towards Isesi, the doctor-priest?

Peseshet greets Isesi politely, but secretly thinks priests like him are full of themselves. She acknowledges Isesi's role as neru pehut, the herdsman of the anus to the royal family, or the guardian of the royal anus. While she doesn't envy his position, it is an indication of the hierarchical structure and the specific responsibilities within ancient Egyptian society.

Q: What is the House of Life and what is stored there?

The House of Life is a place bustling with scribes, priests, doctors, and students. It serves as a repository for various types of records, not just medical information. Papyri containing knowledge and documentation from various fields are stored here, preserving crucial information for future generations.

Q: How does Peseshet's son, Akhethetep, contribute to the House of Life?

Akhethetep is studying to become a scribe and is in the process of copying documents as part of his training. His promising skills as a student are complemented by the fact that Peseshet is a scribe herself and her father was also involved in this profession. Without such family connections, it is incredibly challenging, and even impossible for girls, to pursue this education and become scribes.

Q: How does Peseshet tackle the topic of anatomy in her teachings?

Peseshet quizzes her students on the metu, which are the body's vessels responsible for transporting blood, air, urine, and even bad spirits. Through her teachings, Peseshet highlights the importance of understanding the body's internal workings and the interconnectedness of these vessels in maintaining health.

Q: How does Peseshet handle a woman with a tumor under her arm?

A pale, thin woman approaches Peseshet with a large, sore lump under her arm. Upon examination, Peseshet finds the growth to be cool to the touch and hard, resembling an unripe hemat fruit. Although she has read about such ailments, she has never seen one before. Unfortunately, there is no treatment, medicine, or spell available for this particular tumor, and all the texts suggest doing nothing.

Takeaways

This video provides us with a glimpse into the life and work of Peseshet, an ancient Egyptian swnw or doctor. Through her teachings and medical practices, Peseshet showcases the vast knowledge and skills required for medical practitioners during that time. The video also sheds light on the gender inequality prevalent in ancient Egypt, where boys can pursue education and professions with greater ease compared to girls. Additionally, Peseshet's encounters with medical cases that have no known cure underscore the limits of medical knowledge during this era. Overall, this snapshot of Peseshet's life offers valuable insights into ancient Egyptian medicine and society.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Peseshet, a swnw or doctor in ancient Egypt, relies on her supplies of honey, garlic, cumin, acacia leaves, and cedar oil to treat her patients.

• She uses her medical training as a scribe and studies the medical papyri at the Per Ankh, the House of Life, to teach her own students.

• Peseshet treats a worker with a broken arm, a woman's son stung by a scorpion, and offers a pregnancy test using barley and emmer seeds.