[Ergotism-a weed from Mesopotamia became an epidemic pathogen in Europe]. / Der Ergotismus ­ ein Ackerunkraut aus Mesopotamien wurde in Europa zum noch immer aktuellen Epidemie-Erreger.

In Mesopotamian wheat fields rye grew as weed and after certain developments rye reached Europe and there became a cultivable plant and the dominant grain in certain regions. With the rye also its parasite, the Claviceps purpurea, reached Europe. This ascomycete infects particular rye grains and in its developmental cycle grows to sclerotia bigger than each grain. These forms, the so-called ergots, contain the poisonous ergotalcaloids. After their intake they produce two characteristic forms of ergotism.The clinical picture of the Ergotismus gangraenosus already before the knowledge of its origin, was known as "Ignis sacer", "Anthony's Fire" and "Cold Gangrene". In this non-febrile affection mostly of the limbs, the muscles were decomposed without bleeding and without pain and thereafter the bones detached. Sooner or later the patients died.The other form, Ergotismus convulsivus, mostly described in the German literature as "Kriebelkrankheit" (Crawly disease), begins with the sensation of running ants upon the limbs and continues with painful contractions of hands and feet. In many cases there is a loss of mind and language. Finally, death occurs.The intake of ergotalcaloids predominantly with products of rye flour and meal but also during processing the harvested rye are discussed as well as the "Carry-over" by meat and milk. It is stressed that the compliance with the legal Austrian and EU regulations for the maximum contents of sclerotia and ergotalcaloids resp. in products for human and animal nourishments only can be guaranteed by continuing the technics of separating the sclerotia and their parts.

Investigation of the relationship of groundwater quality and irrigation: the case of Mardin Kiziltepe Plain (Mesopotamia) in Turkey.

Underground water resources are one of the most valuable vital resources for mankind. Groundwater is used as drinking water and for agricultural irrigation. However, in recent years, it has been exposed to dangerous pollution, mainly due to man-made reasons. The study area is located in the Upper Mesopotamian region, where dry agriculture has been practiced since ancient times, which has semi-arid characteristics and where important civilizations lived. In this direction, the changes in groundwater quality were investigated with seasonal, annual samples taken from selected wells in Mardin Kiziltepe Plain in Upper Mesopotamia region and representing the plain in general and were subjected to water quality classifications. Statistical analyses were carried out on EC and NO3- parameters, which are important in determining the quality of groundwater. The results obtained were interpreted, evaluated in terms of drinking and agricultural uses, and it was observed that there were no non-standard values. In addition, the study area will be opened for irrigation in the near future within the framework of GAP, the largest integrated irrigation project in Turkey. This study, which is the first scientific research to be carried out before intensive irrigation, will be the first memory that will provide a very important data set for the region and will be recorded. In addition, the results of the study will be the basis for the comparison of the research to be carried out after the transition to irrigated agriculture depending on the GAP and the pre-irrigation data.

Alcohol: from Mesopotamia to Modern Iraq.

An understanding of alcohol's place in Iraq's history and society can help inform alcohol policy responses in that country and other Muslim majority countries. This article describes the history of alcohol in Iraq from ancient to modern times, with reflection on the challenges facing Iraqi youth today. A search was undertaken to identify peer-reviewed and gray literature that describes alcohol-related practices, norms, and values across the millennia in Iraq. A historical overview is provided of alcohol's use and context, with more detail on recent times. Alcohol was an important commodity in Iraq until the rise of Islam in the seventh century CE. Despite the subsequent Islamic restrictions on alcohol, alcohol remained present in Iraq's society and cultures. Recent studies provide varying descriptions of the prevalence of alcohol consumption, and there are challenges in researching this sensitive topic. External forces shaping alcohol use in Iraq include direct and indirect alcohol promotion, globalized media, and conflict and violence with its associated stress and trauma. Alcohol research and policy development in Iraq must consider the country's unique cultural, religious, historical, and political context. Iraq's youth may be subject to pressures to increase consumption, and thus policies must be informed by an understanding of the complex set of current perspectives and pressures.

The Spiritual Dimensions of Healing Rituals in Ancient Mesopotamia.

The spell formula called the Marduk-Ea incantation from ancient Mesopotamia is unique in history of medicine due to its documented use of almost 3000 years. The incantation was recited in exorcistic healing rituals. The formal structure of the spell is studied from the point of view of neuroscience of doctor-patient relationship and in the context of the decentring mechanism of religious experiences. The incantation structure is also analysed for decentring phenomenology in dreams. The structure of this incantation enables religious and spiritual experiences to occur both to healer and patient. These experiences generated a positive psychosocial context and facilitated placebo effects. The incantation structure is bound to stimulate brain mechanisms in prefrontal cortex that promote both executive functions and placebo responsiveness.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in water and sediment of Hoor Al-Azim wetland, Iran: a focus on source apportionment, environmental risk assessment, and sediment-water partitioning.

The concentration, source, and ecological risk of 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in water and sediment samples in Hoor Al-Azim wetland, a significant freshwater wetland in Lower Mesopotamia, were evaluated. Total PAHs concentrations varied from 15.3 to 160.15 ng/L, and 15.78 to 410.2 µg/Kg in water and sediment, respectively. PAHs pollution levels in sediments compared with sediment quality guidelines (SQG) were found to be moderate in two stations and low in water and the rest of sediment stations. Based on the diagnostic ratio analysis, cluster analysis (CA), and principal component analysis-multiple linear regression (PCA-MLR), the mean percentage contributions were 62.62% for mixed pyrogenic and petrogenic sources (e.g., unburned and combusted fossil fuels from fishing boats and vehicle engines, incomplete combustion, oil leakage), 20.68% for auto emission, and 16.7% for pyrogenic sources (fossil fuels and biomass combustion). According to the sediment risk assessment indices such as mean effects range-median quotient (M-ERM-Q), the ecological risk of multiple PAHs was low. Risk quotient (RQ) calculation of water samples suggested high ecological risk level for Benzo[a]anthracene (BaA), and low to moderate for other individual PAHs and ΣPAHs. The result of PAHs partitioning between sediment and water phases revealed that most PAHs prefer to accumulate in sediment. Sediments probably act as a secondary source for some PAHs in the oil collection and pumping station.

Archaeogenetics of Late Iron Age Çemialo Sirti, Batman: Investigating maternal genetic continuity in north Mesopotamia since the Neolithic.

OBJECTIVES: North Mesopotamia has witnessed dramatic social change during the Holocene, but the impact of these events on its demographic history is poorly understood. Here, we study this question by analysing genetic data from the recently excavated Late Iron Age settlement of Çemialo Sirti in Batman, southeast Turkey. Archaeological and radiocarbon evidence indicate that the site was inhabited during the second and first millennia BCE. Çemialo Sirti reveals nomadic items of the Early Iron Age, as well as items associated with the Late Achaemenid and subsequent Hellenistic Periods. We compare Çemialo Sirti mitochondrial DNA profiles with earlier and later populations from west Eurasia to describe genetic continuity patterns in the region. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 16 Çemialo Sirti individuals' remains were studied. PCR and Sanger sequencing were used to obtain mitochondrial DNA HVRI-HVRII sequences. We studied haplotype diversity and pairwise genetic distances using FST , comparing the Çemialo Sirti population with ancient and modern-day populations from west Eurasia. Coalescent simulations were carried out to test continuity for specific population comparisons. RESULTS: Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplotypes from 12 Çemialo Sirti individuals reveal high haplotype diversity in this population, conspicuously higher than early Holocene west Eurasian populations, which supports the notion of increasing population admixture in west Eurasia through the Holocene. In its mtDNA composition, Çemialo Sirti shows highest affinity to Neolithic north Syria and Neolithic Anatolia among ancient populations studied, and to modern-day southwest Asian populations. Based on population genetic simulations we cannot reject continuity between Neolithic and Iron Age, or between Iron Age and present-day populations of the region. DISCUSSION: Despite the region's complex sociopolitical history and indication for increased genetic diversity over time, we find no evidence for sharp shifts in north Mesopotamian maternal genetic composition within the last 10,000 years.

Stable isotopic evidence for land use patterns in the Middle Euphrates Valley, Syria.

OBJECTIVES: Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios (δ13 C and δ15 N) were used to reconstruct the history of subsistence strategies in the middle Euphrates valley, NE Syria, in six temporal subsets dating from the Early Bronze Age (c. 2300 BCE) to the Modern period (19th/20th century CE). The study aims to demonstrate that changes in political and social organization over time, for which the archaeological record suggests different goals of land use and modes of production, register through dietary patterns that are reflected in isotopic data. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 173 dentin samples were taken from human individuals buried at three sites (Tell Ashara, Tell Masaikh and Gebel Mashtale) together with 15 animal bone samples. Distribution of the δ13 C and δ15 N values in collagen was interpreted in diachronic perspective, and with regard to lifetime shifts between childhood and adolescence. RESULTS: Diachronically, isotope signatures indicate a clear decrease in δ15 N values accompanied by a small shift in δ13 C values between the Old Babylonian (c. 1800-1600 BCE) and the Neo-Assyrian (c. 850-600 BCE) subsets. A major shift in δ13 C values occurred between the Early Islamic (c. 600-1200 CE) and Modern (c. 1800-1950) periods. Ontogenetic changes only occur in a few individuals, but these suggest change of residence between childhood and adolescence. DISCUSSION: The depletion in 15 N from the Neo-Assyrian period onwards is best explained in terms of a shift from intensive to extensive farming, triggered by the fall of regional city-states after the Old Babylonian period and the formation of large supra-regional polities in the Neo-Assyrian period and later. The enrichment in 13 C during the Modern period was most likely the effect of more widely utilizing the dry steppes, abundant in C4 plants, as pasture.

Different types of multiethnic societies and different patterns of development and change in the prehistoric Near East.

After briefly examining the forms of cultural contact in pre- and protohistoric societies in relation to the problem of the varying perception of territories and their "borders" as well as of "membership" in those societies, and after a brief reconsideration of the concept of culture and ethnicity in such archaic contexts, this paper then examines three examples of multiethnic societies in the Near East, and specifically in Upper Mesopotamia and Southeast Anatolia, in the fifth, fourth, and at the beginning of the third millennia before the common era (BCE), respectively. These examples are dealt with as emblematic cases of different models of society, types of interaction with alien groups, levels of integration, and development dynamics. Each of these cases is examined with respect to its socioeconomic context, the archeological evidence of "multiethnicity," the types of interaction between different components, the degree of cultural integration achieved, and the effects on the dynamics of change and the development of the societies examined. By analyzing and comparing these examples, the paper aims to show how interethnic contact impacted differently on different societies according to their types, the reasons and purposes of the interaction, and the degree of integration achieved.

Atmospheric pollen spectrum in Stone City, Mardin; the northern border of Mesopotamia/SE-Turkey.

Airborne pollen distribution in Mardin city was measured volumetrically during three consecutive years, 2014-2016. Three thousand eight hundred fifty-seven pollen grains as a mean value belonging to 44 taxa were recorded annually during the study period, and pollen grains from woody plant taxa had the more substantial atmospheric contribution with 62.66% and with 23 taxa. Despite the differences between years, the highest pollen concentration was recorded in April. The main pollen producers of the pollen spectrum were Cupressaceae (27.79%), Poaceae (21.21%), Platanus (10.29%), Morus (6.19%), Olea europaea (5.01%), Quercus (4.91%), Pinus (3.84%), and Amaranthaceae (3.73%) and almost all dominant pollen types in the city atmosphere were previously stated to be allergic. The atmospheric sampling data was characterized by the high presence of woody plants in spring, as well as the high presentation of herbaceous plants in late spring to early winter. The main pollen season (MPS) and durations of dominated pollen types were analyzed and mostly found a little bit earlier or parallel with similar studies in Mediterranean basin, but found earlier than the east. Statistical analyses were performed to compare years with each other and for correlating daily pollen concentrations of dominated pollen types concurrent with the data of meteorological parameters; a number of significant correlations were found.

Spatial and temporal patterns of precipitation and stream flow variations in Tigris-Euphrates river basin.

Tigris and Euphrates river basin (TERB) is one of the largest river basins in the Middle East, and the precipitation (in the form of snowfall) is a major source of streamflow. This study investigates the spatial and temporal variability of precipitation and streamflow in TERB to better understand the hydroclimatic variables and how they varied over time. The precipitation shows a decreasing trend with 1980s being wetter and 2000s being drier. A total of 55 and 40% reduction in high flows in Tigris and Euphrates rivers at T20 and E3 was seen in post-reservoir period. A lag time of 3 to 4 and 5 to 6 months was estimated between peak snowfall and runoff time periods. Decreasing precipitation and streamflow along with several planned dams could hamper the sustainability of several Mesopotamian marshlands that completely depend on the water from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.

Beginnings-The Kidney and Nephrology in Ancient Mesopotamian Culture.

A defining period in the history of civilization occurred in ancient Mesopotamia. While some of Mesopotamian contributions to knowledge (writing, mathematics, astronomy) have been recognized, those made to medicine are just beginning to be studied and appreciated. The medicine of the time developed in a theocratic society where local gods controlled all aspects of life and their healers were learned scribes who established the priestly medicine of old. For their use of prayers and incantations as a component of therapy Mesopotamian medicine has been belittled and relegated to magic. In fact, the Mesopotamian healers established the basic medical skills of observation, diagnosis, prognosis and treatment and, over time, systematically produced an expanding corpus of medical knowledge that had not existed theretofore. The kidney as an organ, the components of the urogenital tract, some signs and symptoms of renal diseases, and the art of urinalysis were first conceptualized, studied, and codified in Mesopotamia. In doing so, the Mesopotamians set the foundations of rational medicine that would follow after the introduction of the phonetic alphabet and the Socratic method of questioning and debate to stimulate critical analysis.

[Not Available]. / Histoire de la pneumologie dans l'antiquité (partie 1).

Medicine owes many to Hippocrate, but pneumology traces its origin back to antiquity, from Mesopotamia to ancient Rome. Regarding prehistory: if viscera of this period have not been kept, some bones were. Since Neanderthals, it is then possible to study osteoarticular pathologies (often chronic arthrosis). But no evidence of tuberculosis was found (all thoracic kyphosis are not tuberculosis). Tuberculosis probably appears during the Neolithic age, because of high concentration of population. In ancient times, pneumology was of course not a real medical specialty. However, respiratory illness already constituted a big part of antique medical practice. The purpose of the physician in antiquity was to establish a diagnosis, a prognostic and to propose a treatment. Prognostic revealed to be of great importance in ancient times, since therapeutic efficacy was limited. Contemporary physicians often neglect this part of their practice. In ancient times, physicians also tried to gradually eliminate magic-religious aspects in taking care of the patients. This review will propose a journey from Mesopotamia to ancient Egypt (and its medical papyrus). Very few sources are available concerning medicine in pre-Columbian cultures. However, it is well known that shamans had, besides their religious competences, a great pharmacopoeia. Because of these very few sources, this topic will not be added to this article. Little is known in Europa about chinese medicine before the Jesuit mission in China during the 17th and 18th centuries. Yet, chinese medicine grew in parallel with European's one. Some relevant elements of this medicine will hereafter be shown.

Neurology and psychiatry in Babylon.

We here review Babylonian descriptions of neurological and psychiatric disorders, including epilepsy, stroke, psychoses, obsessive compulsive disorder, phobias, psychopathic behaviour, depression and anxiety. Most of these accounts date from the first Babylonian dynasty of the first half of the second millennium BC, within a millennium and a half of the origin of writing. The Babylonians were remarkably acute and objective observers of medical disorders and human behaviour. Their detailed descriptions are surprisingly similar to modern 19th and 20th century AD textbook accounts, with the exception of subjective thoughts and feelings which are more modern fields of enquiry. They had no knowledge of brain or psychological function. Some neuropsychiatric disorders, e.g. stroke or facial palsy, had a physical basis requiring the attention of a physician or asû, using a plant and mineral based pharmacology; some disorders such as epilepsy, psychoses, depression and anxiety were regarded as supernatural due to evil demons or spirits, or the anger of personal gods, and thus required the intervention of the priest or asipu; other disorders such as obsessive compulsive disorder and psychopathic behaviour were regarded as a mystery. The Babylonians were the first to describe the clinical foundations of neurology and psychiatry. We discuss these accounts in relation to subsequent and more modern clinical descriptions.

She will givebirth easily: therapeutic approaches to childbirth in 1st millennium BCE cuneiform sources.

This article offers, in the first place, an overview on women's healthcare in relation to childbirth in ancient Mesopotamia, as an introduction that helps to evaluate the meaning of the 7th century Assur text BAM 248 within therapeutic cuneiform texts on childbirth. We proceed to analyse the variety of therapeutic approaches to childbirth present in BAM 248, which brings together various healing devices to help a woman give birth quickly and safely. We analyse the text in its entirety as an example of intersection between different medical approaches to childbirth, given the number of differences in the complexity of remedies, in the materia medica employed, in the methods of preparation and application, even in the technical knowledge required and also, most probably, in the social origin and/or use of the remedies in question.

She will give birth easily: therapeutic approaches to childbirth in 1st millennium BCE cuneiform sources.

This article offers, in the first place, an overview on women's healthcare in relation to childbirth in ancient Mesopotamia, as an introduction that helps to evaluate the meaning of the 7th century Assur text BAM 248 within therapeutic cuneiform texts on childbirth. We proceed to analyse the variety of therapeutic approaches to childbirth present in BAM 248, which brings together various healing devices to help a woman give birth quickly and safely. We analyse the text in its entirety as an example of intersection between different medical approaches to childbirth, given the number of differences in the complexity of remedies, in the materia medica employed, in the methods of preparation and application, even in the technical knowledge required and also, most probably, in the social origin and/or use of the remedies in question.

An archaeomagnetic study of the Ishtar Gate, Babylon.

Data from the marriage of paleomagnetism and archaeology (archaeomagnetism) are the backbone of attempts to create geomagnetic field models for ancient times. Paleointensity experimental design has been the focus of intensive efforts and the requirements and shortcomings are increasingly well understood. Some archaeological materials have excellent age control from inscriptions, which can be tied to a given decade or even a specific year in some cases. In this study, we analyzed fired mud bricks used for the construction of the Ishtar Gate, the entrance complex to the ancient city of Babylon in Southern Mesopotamia. We were able to extract reliable intensity data from all three phases of the gate, the earliest of which includes bricks inscribed with the name of King Nebuchadnezzar II (605 to 562 BCE). These results (1) add high quality intensity data to a region relatively unexplored so far (Southern Mesopotamia), (2) contribute to a better understanding of paleosecular variation in this region, and the development of an archaeomagnetic dating reference for one of the key regions in the history of human civilizations; (3) demonstrate the potential of inscribed bricks (glazed and unglazed), a common material in ancient Mesopotamia, to archaeomagnetic studies; and (4) suggest that the gate complex was constructed some time after the Babylonian conquest of Jerusalem, and that there were no substantial chronological gaps in the construction of each consecutive phase. The best fit of our data (averaging 136±2.1 ZAm2) with those of the reference curve (the Levantine Archaeomagnetic Curve) is 569 BCE.

The ancient history of kissing.

Sources from Mesopotamia contextualize the emergence of kissing and its role in disease transmission.

Ancient DNA from Mesopotamia suggests distinct Pre-Pottery and Pottery Neolithic migrations into Anatolia.

We present the first ancient DNA data from the Pre-Pottery Neolithic of Mesopotamia (Southeastern Turkey and Northern Iraq), Cyprus, and the Northwestern Zagros, along with the first data from Neolithic Armenia. We show that these and neighboring populations were formed through admixture of pre-Neolithic sources related to Anatolian, Caucasus, and Levantine hunter-gatherers, forming a Neolithic continuum of ancestry mirroring the geography of West Asia. By analyzing Pre-Pottery and Pottery Neolithic populations of Anatolia, we show that the former were derived from admixture between Mesopotamian-related and local Epipaleolithic-related sources, but the latter experienced additional Levantine-related gene flow, thus documenting at least two pulses of migration from the Fertile Crescent heartland to the early farmers of Anatolia.

Al-Masa'il fi al-tibb: Hunain ibn Ishaq's historic medical text with a distinctive style of Islamic medical education.

The golden age of Islamic medicine (800 to 1300 CE) is a notable period in medical history. Medical education in this period of time was significant and systematic in Islamic territory. In the early Golden Age of Islamic Medicine, Abu Zayd Hunain ibn Ishaq al-'Ibadi, an exceptional scholar and translator, emerged. He was known as Johannitius in medieval Europe. Al-Masa'il fi al-tibb lil-Mutallimin (Questions on Medicine for Students) was written by Hunain ibn Ishaq. This book remains a definitive text on Islamic medicine and has been printed and published widely in Europe. Al-Masa'il fi al-tibb is written in the style of questions and answers which is distinct from the conventional writing style of medical books on Islamic medicine. The current article reviews Al-Masa'il fi al-tibb and its distinguishing style, the question and answer format. Today, the question-and-answer method is a popular method of medical education, and clinical teachers tend to use it in medical education because of the advantages it offers. The use of this method in Al-Masa'il fi al-tibb for education and examination of medical students by Hunain ibn Ishaq reflects a great improvisation in medical education and introduces him as the leading developer of the question-and-answer method in Islamic medical education.

Re-assessing the notion(s) of craft standardization through diversity statistics: A pilot study on Late Chalcolithic pottery from Arslantepe in Eastern Anatolia.

This paper proposes a new range of diversity indexes applicable to ceramic petrographic and geochemical data and potentially to any archaeological data of both metric and non-metric nature in order to assess the degree of craft standardization. The case study is the Late Chalcolithic pottery from Arslantepe in eastern Anatolia, ideal to test the standardization hypothesis, i.e. the assumed correspondence between craft standardization and increased rates of production, which in turn correlate with economic specialization. The results suggest that the procurement and processing of raw materials are more sensible indicators of standardization than vessel shape variability. Higher standardization is connected with the scale of production rather than with the use of the wheel or its rotational speed. The socio-economic centralization marks a process of labor division within the operational sequence and, more generally, a shift from communal to more segregated potting practices. As a result, the variability of both technical procedures and end products increases. In contrast univocal trends towards standardization can be found in coeval contexts from northern Mesopotamia, where the incipient urbanization served to create bonds between vessel makers, favoring the transmission of models and practices regardless of the centralized power.