Institute for Mediterranean and Near Eastern Languages and Cultures Archives

Investigating the healing arts of Ancient Mesopotamia

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Barbara Boeck, of the Institute for Mediterranean and Near Eastern Languages and Cultures, CSIC Madrid, has studied the cuneiform records of Ancient Mesopotamia to explore their healing methods. With a particular focus on medicinal plants and the practice of divination, she set out to discover how Babylonian practitioners treated their patients, what medicinal plants they recommended for which illnesses, and […]

Coastline evolution: The rise and fall of sea level through time

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The geological formation of coastlines tells us a lot about sea level change.

Changes in global sea level have been ongoing throughout the Earth’s geological history, driven by the growth and decay of ice sheets. The Last Glacial Maximum – when ice sheets were at their greatest extent – occurred as early human communities were developing, often focused in coastal areas such as the Mediterranean Basin. Dr Emanuele Lodolo of the National Institute […]

Revisiting the medicinal plants of the Bible and the Holy Land

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Many previously described medicinal plants of the Bible do not match the flora of the Holy Land. Using modern interpretations of ancient Hebrew, Egyptian and Mesopotamian sources, the authors have reduced these potential medicinal plants to 45 species of which 20 were not previously included. Amots Dafni (Institute of Evolution, Department of Evolutionary and Environmental Biology, University of Haifa, Israel) […]