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Epilepsy and Its Treatment in the Ancient Cultures of America
Author(s) -
Elferink Jan G. R.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
epilepsia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.687
H-Index - 191
eISSN - 1528-1167
pISSN - 0013-9580
DOI - 10.1111/j.1528-1157.1999.tb00815.x
Subject(s) - epilepsy , magic (telescope) , disease , history , medicine , psychiatry , traditional medicine , pathology , physics , quantum mechanics
Summary: Epilepsy was a well‐recognized disease in pre‐Columbian America, as appears from the reports of the Spanish chroniclers of the sixteenth century. Both the Aztecs and the Incas strongly associated epilepsy with magic and religion, which is evident from their ideas about the pathogenesis and treatment of the disease. Apart from treatment of epilepsy by magic means, the Incas and especially the Aztecs used in addition a large number of botanic medicines; the use of these medicines probably had an empiric nature.