Encyclopedia of Society and Culture in the Ancient World

social and cultural concerns. Th e diseases that affl icted hu-
man inhabitants at the time were also a product of the physi-
cal environment, which determined whether certain viruses
or parasites existed to infect humans. Human activities, like
agriculture or pastoralism, oft en altered the environment
in certain ways that directly or indirectly helped spread or
control certain diseases. Th rough cultural knowledge and
cultural practices, inhabitants of the African continent in an-
cient times sought to maintain or restore health by focusing
on a combination of balance with the environment, relation-
ships with neighbors and ancestors, and personal illness.

EGYPT

BY CHRISTINE END

Mummies, artistic representations of human beings, and
medical papyri all contribute to what Egyptologists know
about the quality of health and hygiene in ancient Egypt.
While examining mummies remains the most thorough
means of investigating diseases and illnesses of the ancient
Egyptians, protecting these irreplaceable time capsules of
the ancient world is of paramount concern. Radiography, CT
scanning, endoscopy, and small-scale tissue sampling are
scientifi c methods of examining mummies with a minimal
amount of damage.
Contrary to popular belief, ancient Egyptian physi-
cians did not master the study of human anatomy. What was
known of physiology was largely based on the butchery of an-
imals. Many ancient Egyptian words for human body parts
or concepts have a determinative (a hieroglyph that depicts
the meaning of a word) showing animal’s body parts fol-
lowing such words. Th e removal of organs by the embalmer
during mummifi cation was limited to a tiny opening in the
fl ank of the deceased person and did not provide much vi-
sual anatomical information. Dissection of humans simply
did not take place and was taboo. According to the histories
of Diodorus Siculus, the man who made the mummifi cation
incision was ritually stoned aft er fi nishing his work, for defi l-
ing the body.
By modern standards ancient Egyptian life spans were
relatively short. Living to the mid-30s was considered liv-
ing to a good age, though some individuals (including the
pharoah Ramses II of the 14th century b.c.e.) lived well into
their eighties. Signs of arthritis and hardening of the arter-
ies are apparent in mummies of older people; documented
complaints relating to these conditions also survive. Infant
mortality was high in ancient Egypt, and death during child-
birth was common. Both pregnancy and menstruation ap-
pear to have been viewed with a certain amount of suspicion
and considered unclean. Fertility problems, contraception,
and pregnancy are topics discussed in the Kahun Medical
Papyrus (dating to ca. 1900 b.c.e.) and the Berlin Papyrus
(dating to the 1200s b.c.e.). Birth defects were common but
not oft en depicted, aside from cases of dwarfi sm. Dwarfs
were accepted, if not embraced by ancient Egyptian society.

According to physical and pictorial evidence, circumcision

for males was common, possibly for reasons of hygiene. Cir-

cumcision appears to have taken place not in infancy but at

an age just before puberty.

Th e Greek historian Herodotus, of the fi ft h century b.c.e.,

remarked on the general cleanliness of the ancient Egyptians.

Washing the body with animal or vegetable oils and the min-

eral natron as “soap” was routine. Persons of the upper class

would bathe in an indoor shower powered by servants who

poured water over the bather’s body. Th e commoners washed

their bodies and clothing in the waters of the Nile. Perfumed

oils applied to the body masked unwanted odors and was

Coffi n with skeleton of a child, from Speos Artemidos, Egypt, Twenty-

second Dynasty, around 850 b.c.e.; the skeleton shows clear signs of

“brittle bone” disease. (© Th e Trustees of the British Museum)

health and disease: Egypt 547