Disease in Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia

            The scope of knowledge within the relatively short frame of human evolution has and continues to be staggering. The results found from the study of past civilizations, past lives and struggles illustrate vast solutions to contemporary struggles and problems that plague humanity. The current findings of ancient artifacts are scarce to say the least, especially into regard to medicine and disease. This idea is a shocking consideration, since scientists, archeologists and historians are inclined to spend vast sums of time recovering artifacts aging eight-thousand years and upwards --- yet they cannot find them. This is massively due to the fact that their preservation techniques were not up-to-date. Many other factors account for the lack of evidence such as the ambiguous nature of disease in a variety of ancient civilizations, the geographical location of the occurrence, the environment of which they lived, and the way in which they defined disease.
             Tracking and identifying disease in ancient times did not have the most effective methodology; however, it did not prove impossible. Our thought process is revitalized and rescued with new considerations of how most diseases were discovered during this ancient age, stemming from the vast storehouse offered by technology, working knowledge and new ethical codes in these contemporary investigations. Contrary to popular belief, diseases of many stripes have been constantly threatening the survival of the human species. I intend to discuss the various difficulties while identifying disease in ancient cultures, such as the geography, the environment, morals, and differing definitions of "disease." I will provide an examination of documented ancient diseases, including how they originated and how easily undetected they were. Later on, through this millennia-spanning investigation, the referenced diseases will be subjected to an analysis and placed in their proper context in order to understand how they created the chaotic, often life-ending and altering confusion which plagued ancient civilized humankind.