Identification of Medical Plants in Hititte Cuneiform Scripts
Serkan Demi̇rel, Uğur Çakılcıoğlu
1Karadeniz Technical University, Faculty of Art, Department of Archaeology
2Munzur University, Pertek Sakine Genç Vocational School
Keywords: Hittite, Medicinal Plants, Traditional Remedies, Cuneiform Texts
Abstract
This study was made on the plants used for medical purposes in Hititte cuneiform scripts. There are very few medical texts among Hititte cuneiform scripts. In these texts, it is seen that some plants are used in the treatment of diseases together with various religious rituals. These texts, which have the quality of prescription to some extent, indicate the existence of a traditional medicine in the Hititte era. The mentioned plants' uses in treatment are considered and the connection of these plants to the Anatolian folk medicine today was emphasized. Traditional treatment methods formed as a result of a cultural accumulation. It is possible to see some signs from Anatolia in the 2nd millenium B.C. about the past of the traditional herbal treatment methods which is known to have a long history in Anatolia.