Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM)

Medicine in Ancient Assur

“…76), of which three specify pouring the fluid into the "left nostril". 104 Stol noted that flushing ingredients through the left nostril over the right nostril must be considered an irrational practice only attested in veterinary treatments (Stol 2011: 392).105 However, the mention of right and left nostrils also occurs in Šumma izbu in relation to the features of human foetuses: "If a woman gives birth, and (the child) has no left nostril; (the child) is endowed with happiness".106 A similar nostril distinction occurs among symptoms observed in babies in Sa-gig: "If the air of an infant's right 'nostril' gets cold and that of the left gets hot, 'Hand' of Lamaštu". 107 In general, the various omen series tend to focus on positive and negative omens, where the interpretation depended on different schemata such as right/left as favourable/unfavourable, and they frequently incorporate impossible phenomena.108 As such, they function as artificial constructs and can- Zorzi 2011: 46-47;Rochberg 2010;Guinan 1996. In Šumma izbu, the normal right/left opposition as favourable/unfavourable is reversed, as the observations concern malformation.…”

“…5 Šumma ālu (Freedman 2006a: 46) tablet 23 line 102-4 states: "If a snake gives birth in the asurrû of a man's house: … (negative apodosis), 103 If a snake nests in the asurrû of a man's house: … (negative apodosis), 104 If a woman catches a snake unaware in the asurrû and lets it go: … (positive apodosis)"; DIŠ MUŠ ina a-sur-re-e É NA ú-lid … 103 DIŠ MUŠ ina a-sur-ree É NA NÁ-iṣ … 104 DIŠ MUŠ MUNUS ina a-sur-re-e ina la mu-de-e DAB-su-ma BAR-šú … (George 2015: 93 with further references; cf. George 2009: 156 no.…”

“…168), a Sumerian mythical tale (Civil and Lambert 1983), and the Akkadian disputation-like poem known as "Nisaba and wheat" attested at Ḫuzirina and perhaps Assur (Jiménez 2017: 65-68;Lambert 1996: 168-75). 15 ' Hunger (1968: 70) tube for medical or ritual purposes, pipette 73,86,[95][96][97]131n.16,330,115,187 Uruk 22n.23,43n.17,114n.48,115,128n.5,154n.4,174,199,221,224,236,244,245n.75,256 venom 12,57,60,[72][73][74][75][76][77][78][79][80][81][82][83]87n.59,98,104,112,264,267,331,337, 339-40 see also bile; saliva, spittle veterinary medicine, veterinarian 12, 18, 58-60, 72-73, 83-84, 86-87, 89, 95-98, 107, 109-112, 237-38, 240, 250, 264, 267 witchcraft, bewitched foodstuff 5,…”

Situating Kiṣir-Aššur’s Knowledge Production

“…The so-called "Exorcist's Manual",69 abbreviated EM, is a collection of text incipits or overarching titles referring to series and groups of texts of the exorcist's craft (āšipūtu). The EM opens: "Titles of the series of the exorcist's craft (iškar āšipūti) which have been established for learning and reading (ana iḫzi u tāmarti kunnū), a complete list".70 It has therefore been suggested that the EM functioned as a pedagogical tool providing a reference list that defined the ideal range of exorcistic knowledge,71 a work on how to become an āšipu and expert (ummânu),72 as well as a work celebrating the āšipu profession's status.73 The title ummânu designated a "master" of any craft, and in connection to the scholarly disciplines the title is usually translated as "scholar" or "expert".74 Seven manuscripts of the EM are known: three from the NA period and four from the NB and LB periods.75 The earliest datable copy is KAR 44 from the N4 collection, copied by Kiṣir-Nabû (Schwemer 2011: 421), and an additional NA example from the N4 collection.76 The difficult text comprises 44 lines including the colophon, with many titles written in complex Sumerograms, phonetic Akkadian, or pseudo-Sumerian phrases, and a few individual entries are provided with glosses (Frahm 2011a In general, many individual titles, particularly within the first section of the EM, refer to multi-tablet exorcistic series or text groups related to, e.g., the temple, cult, or court (Schwemer 2011: 421-22). The second part is more general in its text descriptions and lists various additional works that are needed to uncover the secrets behind the texts, works to familiarize oneself with scholarship beyond exorcism, and finally a prayer on behalf of the reader.78 The lines are intentionally cryptographic and likely instruct the reader how to gain The works enumerated in lines 37-38 were perhaps "not meant to be studied for their own sake, but with the intention of achieving a better understanding of the ritual texts listed in the 'manual'" (Frahm 2011a: 329).…”