Herbalism - History Flashcards
Lascaux Caves
The first pictorial evidence of herbal medicine – radiocarbon dated between 13,000-25,000 BC.
3rd dynasty of Ur
3000 BC – willow bark recorded on a stone tablet of medical remedies
Ebers Papyrus
ancient Egyptian medical writing dating to c. 1550 BC – details use of many herbs and other medicinal applications, such as clay
Shennong Bencaojing
compilation of oral traditional knowledge that originated with Shennong, also known as the Divine Farmer, who was thought to live from 2737 BC to 2697 – written around 220 AD
Sushruta Samhita
Ayurvedic text details use of over 700 medicinal plants – 6th century BC
“Father of Modern Medicine”
Hippocrates – 460-377 BC; Greek physician
Vis Medicatrix Naturae was central to his philosophy
De Materia Medica
Pedanius Dioscorides – 40-90 AD; physician and botanist
five-volume book documenting 600 plants with medicinal uses. used by physicians until the 1600s.
Claudius Galen
131-200 AD
Greek physician, philosopher, scientist and prolific writer
understanding of plant energetics and actions as well as therapeutic approach
The Cannon of Medicine,
Ibn-Sīnā (Avicenna) - 980-1037; Persian
“Al-Qanun fi’t-Tibb” detailed use of hundreds of herbs and other natural substances.
primary medical text in Europe and Islamic world until the 18th century.
Viriditas
Hildegard von Bingen – 1098-1179
German abbess later given sainthood; musician, artist, visionary, herbalist, and writer
Viriditas: the green flame or greening force.
Ariditas: antonym to viriditas, the desiccating, devitalizing force.
“The dose makes the poison.”
Paracelsus (Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim)– 1493-1541; German/Swiss
phenom of alchemical knowledge.
considered the father of toxicology,
Paracelsus elixir is a bitter tonic based on Aloe, Saffron, and Myrrh. Swedish Bitters is a variation of this formula.
the Complete Herbal
Nicholas Culpeper – 1616-1654; English
botanist, herbalist, physician, astrologer
Author of the Complete Herbal
philosophy was to make medicine accessible to the lay person, using the medicines available in nature.
Samuel Thompso n
(1769-1843)
Folk doctor of the “New World”
used indigenous plants of North America learned from Native Americans.
Physiomedicalism
Alva Curtis (1797-1881) – Thompsonian practitioner who advocated medical training.
expanded upon and renamed the Thompsonian philosophy Physiomedicalism.
major tenant: to ensure elimination through the major organ systems – Skin, Liver, Kidneys, Lungs and Large Intestine.
Wooster Beach
(1794-1868) – credited with founding the Eclectic movement.
advocated (1) use of safe botanical remedies, (2) moderation with drugs and surgery, and (3) excluding chemical poisons.
