Women’s Healthcare in Ancient Mesopotamia: An Edition of the Textual Sources

Ancient Mesopotamian medical texts remain a little-known field within the history of medicine, since only few of the preserved texts are accessible in the form of recent editions. This volume contributes to the study of Mesopotamian healing systems by presenting the first comprehensive edition of the corpus of cuneiform texts concerned with women’s health issues. The book, which includes several hitherto unpublished tablets, contains diagnostic and therapeutic texts, ranging from medical prescriptions to incantations, rituals and fertility tests, written between the 3rd and the late 1st millennium BCE. Selected scholarly commentaries on diagnostic or therapeutic texts from the 1st millennium BCE are also included in the volume. While the main thematic focus of Mesopotamian gynaecology lies on female fertility, pregnancy and birth, the corpus covers an impressive range of health problems spanning from haemorrhage to cosmetic treatments. Complemented by philological commentaries and an introduction that provides an overview of the textual history and a discussion of medical theories and practices, this text book forms an up-to-date survey for both specialists and non-specialist readers interested in Mesopotamian medicine.

Ulrike Steinert, Free University Berlin, Germany.