Like many civilizations in the past, the ancient<unk> s amply discovered the medicinal properties of plant life around them. The Edwin Smith Papyrus contains many recipes to help heal different ailments. One short section of the papyrus lays out five recipes: one dealing with problems women may have had, three on techniques for refining the complexion, and the fifth recipe for ailments of the colon. The ancient<unk> s were known to use honey as medicine, and the juices of pomegranates served as both an astringent and a delicacy." In the Ebers Papyrus, there are over 800 remedies; some were topical-like ointments and wrappings, others were oral medication such as pills and mouth rinses; still others were taken through inhalation. The recipes to cure constipation consisted of berries from the castor oil tree, Male Palm, and Gengent beans, just to name a few. One recipe that was to help headaches called for "inner-of-onion, fruit-of-the-am-tree, natron, setseft-seeds, bone-of-the-sword-fish, cooked, redfish, cooked, skull-of-crayfish, cooked, honey, and abra-ointment." Some of the recommended treatments made use of cannabis and incense.<unk>  medicinal use of plants in antiquity is known to be extensive, with some 160 distinct plant products..." Amidst the many plant extracts and fruits, the<unk> s also used animal feces and even some metals as treatments. These prescriptions of antiquity were measured out by volume, not weight, which makes their prescription-making craft more like cooking than what pharmacists do today. While their treatments and herbal remedies seem almost boundless, they still included incantations along with some therapeutic remedies.<unk>  drug therapy is considered ineffective by today's standards according to Michael D. Parkins, who says that 28% of 260 medical prescriptions in the Hearst Papyrus had ingredients which can be perceived "to have had activity towards the condition being treated" and another third supplied to any given disorder would produce a purgative effect on the gastrointestinal system.
Ancient Egyptian medicine
Ancient Iranian medicine
Traditional Alaska Native medicine
Jewish medicine
Ancient Greek medicine
Georgian folk medicine
Traditional African medicine
Traditional Vietnamese medicine