1. "Its Leaves Are Like the Daughter of the Willow": The Herbal Genre in Ancient Egypt.
- Author
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Schiødt, Sofie
- Subjects
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SNAKEBITES , *SOCIAL context , *MEDICAL practice , *PLANT identification , *TEMPLES , *HOUSEHOLDS - Abstract
The ancient Egyptian herbal literature is sparsely documented, but recently an herbal treatise has been discovered that provides new information about ancient Egyptian medical practice. The treatise deals exclusively with a single plant and its seed, representing a specialized subtype of the herbal genre. There are also demotic papyri and isolated herbal entries that use similar constructions. The herbal books contain information about the use of herbs for treating snake bites and other injuries. It is believed that the herbal books belong to the Egyptian tradition and were already standardized in the New Kingdom. There are also indications of the use of non-native plants in Egypt. The social contexts of the herbal books are largely unknown, but they were likely used both in temples and in private households. It is believed that knowledge about plants was mainly transmitted orally, but was also documented in writing. The article also discusses the identification of plants and seeds in ancient Egyptian remedies. However, the exact identification of some plants remains unclear. The article also discusses the plant snw-p.t in ancient Egypt, which may have been imported from abroad. The article provides an overview of the herbal genre in ancient Egypt and presents various sources and texts on this topic. [Extracted from the article]
- Published
- 2023
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