2002, Number 1
Therapeutic resources used in ancient medicine in Yucatan.
Urzaiz-Jiménez C
Full text
Language: Spanish
References: 10
Page: 59-68
PDF size: 42.54 Kb.
ABSTRACT
To consider that the mayans with their evolutionary disadvantage reached a higher degree of development in the field of medicine is to be over-zealous. What we can assure, without risk of exaggerating is that everyday experience brought several vegetable, animal and mineral substances with curing actions into the hands of the mayans. But it should be made clear that there no guidelines to follow in the use of these substances and they were not attributed as having any defnate action nor any specific use in any determined disease. Quite the opposite, they were used in an irrational way to alleviate the symptoms, irrespective of their origins, which is in no way inferior to know their european contemporaries were working. The practice of medicine among mayans was the responsability of three people of different ranks, the h-men who was a priest, the dza-dzac who was the one who used herbs and is nowadays known as the "quack" and the pul-yah who was the witch doctor or the medicine man. The mayans also ventured into the fields of surgery in exactly the same way as their contemporaries in other parts of the wold. In our opinion, it is interesting to review the hot-cold syndrome among the mayans, even though we are probably not atealing with an autochthonic concept, but with a contribution from the spanish conqueors. Until now all the research into the curative resources of the mayans has concentrated on the magical aspects which differ very little from those practiced by other primitive people; however hardly anything has been published about the empirical use of medicinal plants, which has the fame of being widely broadcast.REFERENCES