Did You Know: Herbal Remedies Through History

Tuesday, March 13, 2018

As fun as it is to look back in time it is also difficult. Nature has a way of reclaiming what we have carved out when we stop fighting it off. It is only through advanced technology and a good idea of where to look do we find any real snapshots of our past.  

There is a collection of cave paintings which are scattered about western Europe.  I see many different dates so it's hard to know exactly when, we'll say over 41,00 years old, that show a degree of sophistication and intelligence. They created more than just art but show us they had an understanding of nature and their place in it. When we examine the bones of the people who made this art we find their understanding of nature was much more than just artistic.  

Dental records and DNA evidence shows that they understood the medical properties of the world around them as well. We can see they could cultivate penicillin and knew what plants would aid in pain relief. I think it is fascinating that even after 41,000 mankind still uses Yarrow to help with digestive issues, or roman chamomile as an anti-inflammatory. 
  
I think what I find most fascinating about this connection we have with plants is how people we think of now as being barely intelligent where able to get it so right. Today with our almost magical understanding of science we still always go back to the plant for healing.    

As we evolved so did our understanding of the plants around us. As we grew in sophistication so did our use and understanding of medicinal herbs.  When we think of sophisticated civilizations from antiquity we think of Egypt. Ramesses the 2nd was renowned throughout the ancient world for his healers. Their use of plants extended beyond just the preservation of their dead but the preservation of their life as well. If only they tried as hard with the preservation of their knowledge. Though I have heard reference to recipes as far back as 6000 years ago I can only find an example written on the walls of Edfu temple. By this time the priest had realized that their method of papyrus writing might not withstand the test of time, or the fires of Rome. Though I know the recipe known as Kyphi has been around for a very long time it is hard to pin down its exact use. Its abundant use in religious  ceremonies and inclusion in the pharos burial suggests that it had a Godly significances to it. Though the Greeks at the time seemed to think that it was an antidote and  a cure for the asthmatic. The recipe is still in use today though primarily as a fragrance or in ceremonial use.  
The Egyptians were kind enough to tell us what their recipe was but not kind enough to tell us what it is used for. The Chinese on the other hand wrote a manual to withstand the test of time.  

I have to admit that Chinese history is the foggiest to me. I know a little about some of the biggest names and most popular stories but as far as the meat of their history I know little. Still I know that if I went looking for the history of medicine it would take me right through China and I found the yellow emperor's book of internal medicine. I would like to say I read it but that would be a lie. I did read about it though and there is a lot to be said about it.  

As far as I can tell around 4,500 years ago in China they realized that people who are sick are not just possessed by demons or displeasing some god, they realized something is off with the body and there is a way to bring it back in line. Though it is older than most civilizations there are still those who practice what is written in that book.  

About the same time another civilization in India were writing down their religious text and again it was full with medical information. When you look to the Vedic text we find a rich description of the knowledge of local plants and their medical uses. The plants and herbs in this text did more than cure poisons and heal wounds but it was also thought to heal the soul. It is another classic example of humans using the healing power of plants that still to this day help guide our understanding of our connection with the nature around us.  

As we look back through history we find that every culture that that took the time to write something down had something to say about the plants in the world and the way they used them. Whether they ate them whole or processed them in to an oil we have been relying on the healing power of plants to help us extend our lives.  

Thank you for reading, until next time be well, 
Robert 

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