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Historical perspectives on health Medicine 2000 years ago: the case of Qumran and other biblical sites

Open University, 53 Asmuns Place, London NW11 7XE, England

Since the eighteenth century, the dominance of orthodox or allopathic medicine in the West led to the branding of other forms of medicine as alterna tive. However, research shows a narrowing in the gap in popularity of the two methods and it is pos sible to envision a time when alternative medicine and mainstream medicine will work in tandem.

As the West completes a year of millennium cel ebrations and looks back to the events that shaped the founding of the first millennium two thousand years ago, it is appropriate to increase our under standing of the form medicine took at that time. Research on Qumran and other biblical sites shows that the therapies offered there were based on alter native therapies such as herbal medicine and hydrotherapy as well as conventional therapy such as surgery. The article shows that the twin reliance on alternative and orthodox methods emerging today, marks a return to a pattern of provision which prevailed at the time the first millennium was born.

Key Words: Alternative medicine • anaesthetics • biblical medicine • mandrake • Qumran

The Journal of the Royal Society for the Promotion of Health, Vol. 120, No. 4, 255-261 (2000)
DOI: 10.1177/146642400012000414


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