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Ancient Origins Tour IRAQ

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Beautyberries (left) have revealed insights about mint family composition. Source: Left: Tom Cardrick / Adobe Stock; Right: Public Domain

Ancient Medicinal Mint Has Untapped Potential, New Research Reveals

Researchers from Michigan State University recently completed a comprehensive study of the genomes of several species of mint plants , to trace their evolutionary pathways at the chemical level...
Doctors giving medicine.

Medieval Medical Books Could Hold the Recipe for New Antibiotics

For a long time, medieval medicine has been dismissed as irrelevant. This time period is popularly referred to as the “Dark Ages,” which erroneously suggests that it was unenlightened by science or...

Woman, Healer, Goddess? Famous (and Forbidden) Female Physicians in the Ancient World

Throughout history, women have always been healers. They were pharmacists, cultivating healing herbs and exchanging the secrets of their uses. They were also nurses, counselors, midwives who traveled...
Shennong: The God-King of Chinese Medicine and Agriculture

Shennong: The God-King of Chinese Medicine and Agriculture

Shennong, which means “God farmer” or “God peasant”, is a deity in Chinese religion. He is a mythical sage healer and ruler of prehistoric China. Shennong is also known as Wugushen “five grains,” or...
Making Medieval Magic: Countering Infections and Poison with Nine Potent Herbs

Making Medieval Magic: Countering Infections and Poison with Nine Potent Herbs

Many old spells have been lost or forgotten over the years, but careful readers of medieval books can still recognize some of them tucked within old tomes. There is a spell from a 10th-century book...
Drugs in Ancient Cultures: A History of Drug Use and Effects

Drugs in Ancient Cultures: A History of Drug Use and Effects

The battle against drugs and drug usage rages on today and for good reason. However, with the near constant limelight that the ‘drug war’ receives today, it can seem like the most common drugs have...
Canaanite Wine Cellar discovered at Tel Kabri

Trove of Ancient Wine Found in Bronze Age Canaanite Palace Could Fight Cancer

Last year, archaeologists discovered a huge hoard of storage vessels in a 6,000 square metre Bronze Age palace at Tel Kabri, located in what is now Israel. Known to be the largest wine cellar to ever...