Ancient Egypt - Exam Questions

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Exam Questionn

Briefly describe the main features of Egyptian Medicine (5)

Egyptian medicine used common-sense and herbal remedies, such as honey, as an antiseptic. They also believed in supernatural cures and would go to the temples to be healed or to make offerings to the gods if they could not get better. Doctors were also priests and so medical care was closely connected to the gods. They believed gods, such as Sekhmet, sent epidemics or gods, such as, such as Bes looked after pregnant women. Egyptians believed the body was like the River Nile and that illness was caused by blockages in channels in the body. They learnt about the insides of bodies because they embalmed bodies both to prepare them for the after life and to prevent them from decaying.

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Exam Question 2

Briefly how the Egyptians tried to stay healthy (5)

The Egyptians used charms to protect from evil spirits and would purge themselves if they were ill to try to unblock their channels. They kept themselves clean aswell, shaving their bodies and washing their eating and drinking utensils. They also took other precautions, such as using toilets, or sleeping under mosquito nets.

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Exam Question 3

Explain how factors outside medicine helped the Egyptgians make progress in medicine (7)

Egypt was one of the first places where not everyone needed to hunt in order to survive. This meant that people could be otherwise employed as priests and many doctors were also priests. Embalming bodies helped them to find out more about anatomy. Skilled craftsmen could also produce new tools and equipment, which doctors could use to carry out operations.

Communication was a vital factor for progress. The development of a written language, pens and papyrus meant the Egyptians could record their treatments and the discoveries they made about the body. This meant that ideas spread to other doctors in Egypt. Trade with other countries meant that these ideas could spread further and the arrival of different herbs into Egypt also helped the progression of Medicine.

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