30 January, 2013
Once upon a time, people used plants for healing and it wasn't referred to as “alternative”. Back then, “traditional” medicine referred to that which had been around the longest, which was healing based on the use of plants and nature. Now, things have changed and we occasionally need a reminder that nature has been providing medicine for millennia and can still be trusted to provide it today. One of those reminders came just a couple years ago when archaeologists discovered a wooden box full of medicine in a 2,000 year-old sunken ship off the coast of Tuscany.
By Elizabeth Renter
Myscienceacademy.org
Once upon a time, people used plants for healing and it wasn't referred to as “alternative”. Back then, “traditional” medicine referred to that which had been around the longest, which was healing based on the use of plants and nature. Now, things have changed and we occasionally need a reminder that nature has been providing medicine for millennia and can still be trusted to provide it today. One of those reminders came just a couple years ago when archaeologists discovered a wooden box full of medicine in a 2,000 year-old sunken ship off the coast of Tuscany.
The ship was
believed to have sank around 130 B.C., well over 2,000 years ago. It was
transporting wine, glassware, lams, and ceramics. It isn’t clear where
the ship originated or what its final destination was, but we do know
there was likely a healer on board.
Inside a wooden box, preserved deep under the sea, was a collection
of pills. Using DNA sequencing, scientists were able to determine what
was inside these pills, and it wasn’t some lab-created, branded
pharmaceuticals. The pills contained all natural plants and
materials including crushed celery, onions, carrots, cabbage, alfalfa,
chestnuts, radish, yarrow, parsley, nasturtium, hibiscus, and clay. Also
within the box was a mortar and pestle, likely used to crush the plants
and herbs for the medicinal preparations.
The finding marks the oldest known remains of ancient medicines. Dr.
Alain Touwaide from the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in
Washington D.C. says that the remedies are those documented in Ancient
Greek texts, which were later modeled by Ancient Romans—both of whom can
trace their medical practices to Africa, the ‘true birthplace of
medicine’.
More than likely, the researchers say, the medicine was
used to treat general malaise and those digestive complaints common
with sailors on the high seas. To this day, many of the components found
within these ancient pills are still used to treat modern
ailments—including clay for upset stomachs, celery for rheumatism, and
onion for infections.
There are people who would argue that the
life expectancy of a person in these ancient times was dramatically less
than a person today, and that their herbal medicines weren’t doing
anyone any favors. But, this is a narrow-view, failing to look at the
shortcomings of sanitation and the spread of disease back then. Now, for
instance, we don’t live with open sewage and we all know to cook our
foods to a proper temperature.
There are commendable advances that
have taken place over the past few thousand years, to be sure. Better
housing, more sound infrastructure, and cleaner living in general are
just a few. But, there’s a chance we could learn something from our
predecessors—namely, that some things should not be forsaken or left
behind in the name of advancement; that some things, including natural healing, truly are timeless.
By Elizabeth Renter
Myscienceacademy.org
