Tipton 200 blood was associated with the heart but did not recognize its pump functions. To the swnw, air and water were essential for life and believed air, the breath of life, entered the right ear while the breath of death entered the left ear. Functionally, air entered the body through the nose and traveled via the trachea directly to the heart and intestines whereas water entered the heart via the stomach. Both were carried in the blood to the various organs of the body by afferent ducts (blood vessels, nerves, and tendons) which were collectively known as the metus [14]. Under normal conditions and when the heart was in its right place [18, p. 128], 'the Fat of Heart is on the left side. It neither rises upward nor falls downward. It remains soundly in its place'. In addition the heart could 'tremble', become sick, miserable or fatigued while experiencing sadness or disease that required the attention of the swnw. As discussed previously, the large intestine was regarded as an important organ because it contained the undigested food as fecal material that could undergo putrefaction and subsequently lead to disease and a loss in the 'bodily vigor' of health [15].Although health was regarded as a desirable and positive state [15], there was no evidence within the relevant papyri or the cited texts that indicated exercise was ever advocated either for health reasons or to improve performance. However, sports and games were an important component of Egyptian culture and for the preparations of war by Pharaohs that were present during the Old Kingdom (2700-2300 BC) and the Late Period (700-600 BC) [19]. Physical activities for the masses included running, rowing, wrestling, ball games, boxing, jumping, and acrobatic dances. Unknown to most is that all future Pharaohs were expected to excel in the 180 stadia race (33.3 km) [10].
The Indus Valley CivilizationArcheological excavations in the Indus Valley of India, first described by Sir John Marshall [5] included Moenjodaro (in Sind) and Harappa (in Punjab) indicated the existence of an ancient Aryan civilization that select historians [20-23] believe was operational earlier than shown by the upper limit of the carbon dating value of 3300 BC [24]. Detailed descriptions of the excavations by Marshall as well as by Chowdhury and Chawdhury [25] revealed an advanced culture that had a concern for sanitation and public health as demonstrated by their water and sewage draining systems and by their massive public bathing building. Analysis of skeletal remains indicated the residents experienced a wide range of diseases that included metal poisoning, arteriosclerosis, osteomyelitis, cancer, and dental diseases. Like the Neolithic caveman, there were signs of skulls being trephinized. Moreover, select skeletons exhibited evidence for infectious diseases. It was the opinion of Bhatia that in the Pre-Vedic Era, disease was regarded as a magical-religious phenomenon caused by supernatural forces which were treated by magic, incantations and related rituals Downloaded by: Kaina...