| Ancient Beliefs and Remedies | Greek and Roman Beliefs and Therapies | Medieval Philosophy and Treatment | Treatment in the Renaissance Era | Medical Approaches in the Nineteenth Century |
Ancient Beliefs and Remedies
Some of the earliest evidence of
exploration in
abnormality is shown in the bones, artwork and relics from prehistoric
societies. These artifacts suggest that in most ancient cultures, the
human
mind and body were both connected as
parts
of the larger world which was under
the influence of spiritual beings. Thus if evil forces won control of a
human,
the result was abnormal behavior. The course of action to take was to,
therefore, expel the demons from the victim. One method that dates back
to the
Stone Age was trephination, which employed a stone instrument, a
trephine, to
cut away sections of the skull in order to let out the troublesome evil
spirits. Next >
History Main Page
Home Page
The above picture is of a trephine and
trephinated skull and it was taken from: http://www.blastbooks.com/mutter/excerpt2.html