📜I have a new article out on Epidemics in Ancient Mesopotamia! It collects a majority of written sources available for reconstructing epidemics in Mesopotamia, and examine what they reveal about these ancient societies and how they tackled disease through rituals, a form of quarantine, and myths 1/6 - ThreadSky

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📜I have a new article out on Epidemics in Ancient Mesopotamia! It collects a majority of written sources available for reconstructing epidemics in Mesopotamia, and examine what they reveal about these ancient societies and how they tackled disease through rituals, a form of quarantine, and myths 1/6

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panktroels.bsky.social•39 days ago

Ancient Mesopotamians used terms like mūtānu (a plural form of the word for "death"💀) to describe epidemics. Especially this popular term often lacked details on symptoms or causes. A reminder of how societies framed disease in their own cultural context. 2/6

panktroels.bsky.social•39 days ago

Rituals and collective prayers were responses to epidemics in ancient Mesopotamia. Some examples show that communities sought to appease the responsible god as a way to stop outbreaks, which is illustrated in an Old Babylonian letter and possibly mirrored in the epic of Atrahasis. 3/6

panktroels.bsky.social•39 days ago

Isolation practices date back to at least 1800 BCE, as also shown in previous studies. A letter from the Syrian city Mari show early quarantine measures, including a ban on sharing items like cups or beds with a specific sick person. Practical steps against disease in the ancient world😷 4/6

panktroels.bsky.social•39 days ago

The Erra Epic – known from the first millennium BCE – framed warfare, destruction, and epidemics as cosmic chaos, thereby linking disease to myth. This narrative helped people in ancient Mesopotamia understand and ritualize such crises, attempting to prevent their influence. 5/6

panktroels.bsky.social•39 days ago

6/6 You can read the article with open access here:

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