Top 10 Bizarre Healing Practices from Ancient Civilizations

 Ancient civilizations have bequeathed a myriad of cultural conventions, some of which include remarkable healing procedures that would today seem like pure folklore. Stemming from a deep-seated tradition and belief system, these practices provide an intriguing look at how our forebears treated healthcare and health. Ten of the most extraordinary and unorthodox healing techniques used by civilizations around the globe will be covered here.

1. Trepanation (Various Ancient Civilizations)

Shared both by belief and practice, trepanation--drilling or cutting holes into the skull--was performed thousands of years ago without anesthetics in such advanced civilizations as those of the Ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Pre-Columbian peoples. Although nowadays this practice is seen as bizarre by modern standards, it sheds a great deal of light on the healing practices employed in ancient times.

In the trepanation process, people cut openings in their skulls with sharp instruments including obsidian utensils or metal tools. While this procedure seems extreme, it was carried out for a variety of reasons--largely to treat conditions such as head injuries or migraines, epilepsy and mental illnesses. Furthermore, it was believed to expel evil spirits or dispel pressure in the head. Either way may have led sufferers toward recovery.

The ancients saw trepanation as a way of letting spirits thought to be evil pass into the next world, or making it easier for vital forces in the body to flow. Looking at the success of the procedure in terms mimicked by healed skulls found during archaeological excavations, it's clear that some patients made it; these surgeons had a grasp of what they were doing as well and an idea about how resilient human bodies can be.

2. (Ancient Mesopotamia, Greece and Rome) Bloodletting

Ancient bloodletting, a medical practice common to Mesopotamian, Greek and Roman civilizations alike, referred specifically to the deliberate siphoning of one's own blood out by cuts for curative purposes. Since the body's health was thought to be determined by a harmonious balance of bodily humors (blood, phlegm ,black bile and yellow bile), bleeding was seen as opening up veins in patients whose systems were blocked.

Procedure and Tools:

Methods: Bloodletting was conducted in various ways, including venesection (cutting veins), cupping (creating suction on the skin to draw blood) and leeches.

Instruments: While different methods of bloodletting required different tools--lancets, knives and cups etc.

Theory and Beliefs:

Bodily Humors: An excess, deficiency or imbalance of humors was thought to lead to illnesses. Bloodletting sought to drain off too much blood, which it was believed removed the body's equilibrium.

Theoretical Basis: Taking the humoral theory put forward by Hippocrates and added to later by Galen as its basis, bloodletting must be practiced in order to maintain health.

3. Mayan Ritual Healing (Maya Pre-Columbian Civilization)

The prehistoric Mayans, widely known as being a highly developed civilization in their own right, took an integrated approach to healing that combined spirituality with natural remedies and shamanistic rites. Mayan treatments sprang from their religious science and included many kinds of ceremonies for approaching the spiritual world to promote health.

Shamanistic Rituals:

Spiritual Connection: Mayan healing rituals were performed by shamans or healers, who served as intermediaries between the physical world and the spiritual one.

Hallucinogenic Substances: Inducing altered states of consciousness by taking hallucinogens such as peyote, mushrooms or morning glory seeds was essential during healing ceremonies.

Bloodletting and Offerings:

Ritualistic Bloodletting: Mayan healing had a central element that involved piercing or cutting parts of the body, allowing blood to flow as an offering to deities. This is called bloodletting. This was thought to be in contact with gods and ancestors.

Offerings to Gods: There were also ceremonies for healing and well-being, with offerings of food (including rice wine), incense or precious items.

4. Chinese Cupping Therapy (Ancient China)

A mainstay of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and actually originating in ancient China, cupping therapy involves placing heat into cups which are then suctioned onto your skin. This method is thought to have a number of health benefits and promote healing by drawing out the bad blood.

Technique and Methodology:

Materials Used: Glass, bamboo and other such materials are used to make cups for cupping therapy. Heated cups are placed on particular parts of the body.

Suction Creation: Suction cups are heated in the fire or by any other means to make a suction effect, which can be achieved either through rapid sticking on, or blowing out of air with the use of vacuum pump.

Skin Response: The suction effect draws the skin slightly up into the cups, which is what gives cupping marks their unique characteristic circular shape (or a bruise-like look).

Beliefs and Healing Principles:

Improvement of Qi Flow: Based on the theory of balancing the flow of Qi (vital life energy) within our body's meridians or energy pathways, cupping therapy is well known to TCM practitioners.

Blood Circulation: According to practitioners, cupping creates a strong suction which stimulates blood flow and brings about the body's own healing response.

Toxin Release: Traditionally cupping was thought to draw pathogenic elements or toxins out from deep within the body, cleansing and detoxifying.

5. Ayurvedic Oil Pulling (Ancient India)

The ancient Indian system of holistic medicine, Ayurveda, holds oil pulling up as a traditional way to maintain oral hygiene and enhance overall health. In fact, this restorative technique involves swishing or pulling oil in the mouth for a certain length of time to remove toxic substances and promote oral and systemic health.

Practice and Methodology:

Choice of Oil: In Ayurvedic practices, sesame oil or coconut oil (or some other vegetable-based oils) are used for the purpose of pulling.

Swishing Technique: Most usually done in the morning on an empty stomach, a tablespoon of oil is swished about your mouth for fifteen or twenty minutes.

Spit and Rinse: Spitting out the oil and then thoroughly rinsing with water is done after swishing.

Beliefs and Purported Benefits:

Oral Health: Oil pulling is said to cleanse the mouth of bacteria, plaque and toxic substances thereby preventing oral infections as well as gingivitis. It also helps with bad breath.

Toxin Removal: Proponents say oil pulling detoxes the body, making it healthier and happier.

6. Ancient Greece Greek Asclepian Healing Temples

The Asclepian healing temples of Ancient Greece were revered sanctuaries dedicated to the god of medicine, Asclepius. Healing practices Among these sacred sites healing played an important role. They used rituals, spiritualist methods and holistic approaches not only to aid the sick but also divine guidance for ailments.

Sanctuaries Dedicated to Healing:

Devotion to Asclepius: The revered deity whose worship led to the establishment of healing temples all over Ancient Greece was a god known as Asclepius, concerned with medicine and healing.

Sacred Rituals: People going to them in search of healing would undergo a series of rites and treatments-often including purification, bathing and prayer.

Ritualistic Cleansing and Sleep Therapy:

Purification Rites: Starting off the healing process, patients underwent a ritual cleansing that usually included baths or purgings to cleanse their bodies and minds.

Sleep as Therapy: Patients would sleep in the temple's abaton (dormitories) believing that Acslcopus had sent to them in dream, being healed by divine intervention.

Dream Therapy and Healing Visions:

Significance of Dreams: Asclepius used dreams to communicate with patients, and priests interpreted their meanings as messages from the god.

Interpretation and Healing: Temple priests analyzed and interpreted the dreams, prescribing treatments or remedies based on what they perceived as being messages from or visions of animals.

7. Moxibustion (Ancient China and Japan)

Moxibustion, an ancient Chinese and Japanese therapeutic procedure dating to 250 b.c., is based on the heating of dried mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris) near special acupuncture points. The stimulation of blood flow and vital energy were the main applications.

Technique and Application:

Mugwort Stimulation: The dried mugwort is quickly shaped into cones or sticks, and then ignited near the skin at specific acupuncture points.

Varied Approaches: Moxibustion methods have direct application (putting moxa on the skin) and indirect ways of doing things (using burning moxa, but not actually applying it to the surface).

Therapeutic Effects and Principles:

Stimulating Qi Flow: Moxibustion seeks to regulate patterns of Qi (vital energy) flow along meridians or channels, promoting harmony and health.

Warming and Dispelling Cold: Especially for diseases caused by either cold imbalances or deficiencies, moxibustion's warmth is thought to restore order.

Health Benefits and Applications:

Enhanced Circulation: In this instance, moxibustion stimulates the flow of circulation and ought to be useful in cases involving poor blood circulations.

Pain Management: It is used to ease pain from conditions such as arthritis, menstrual cramps and musculoskeletal disorders.

8. Ancient Incan Civilization 5. Inca Skull Surgery

Drilling or cutting holes into the skull was an ancient surgical technique practiced by historical Incas. They are famous for their advanced civilization. This bizarre surgical technique was indicative of the deep understanding they had about cranial surgery, and helps us understand both aspects--medicine and religion-of-life in those days.

Surgical Precision and Methodology:

Skilled Techniques: Inca trepanation called for the use of special instruments, using obsidian or metal implements to slice broader circles in a fine point on the front compound.

Astonishing Precision: Healed trepanation sites as found in the archaeological record show a degree of surgical skill, precision and attention to detail not seen outside hospital operating rooms.

Purposes and Medical Applications:

Treatment of Head Injuries: Trepanation may have been used in the treatment of head traumas, fractures or injuries suffered during warfare or by accident.

Alleviation of Medical Conditions: The Incas also practiced trepanation to relieve pressure from a swollen brain or treat conditions that caused very bad headaches and seizures.

Spiritual and Cultural Significance:

Spiritual Healing or Ritualistic Practices: Other than medical considerations, trepanation might have had spiritual significance--perhaps connected to religious or ritualistic ceremonies.

Symbolism and Beliefs: The Incas believed that the opening in the skull let evil spirits out, opened a window into the spiritual world or helped connect with deities.

9. Roman Thermae Baths (Ancient Rome)

In ancient Rome the thermae (baths) were tremendous cultural bastions, much more than just facilities for washing one's body. These large compounds provided an all-round wellbeing by combining many different facilities in one. They were dedicated to relaxation, rejuvenation and even a curative effect on the body and mind.

Thermal Baths and Amenities:

Diverse Spaces: Roman thermae were divided into sections for hot, cold and tepid baths as well as steam rooms (laconica) and saunas (sudatoria).

Massage and Exercise: It offers a complete wellness package with services such as massages, exercise areas and communal spaces for meeting up.

Therapeutic and Healing Benefits:

Hydrotherapy: Water was used, especially hot and cold baths to promote circulation of the blood by relaxing muscles and ease.

Detoxification and Cleansing: It was believed that bathing in mineral water would purify the body and maintain health.

Social and Cultural Aspects:

Social Gathering Spaces: Thermae thus became gathering places for people at all levels of society, where social relationships and conversation could be exchanged.

Cultural Activities: Sometimes these complexes even sponsored lectures, art exhibitions or other recreational activities to enhance the cultural climate of the city.

10. Indigenous Sweat Lodge Ceremonies (Various)

Sweat lodge ceremonies are religious rites practiced among many Native American tribes and some of the indigenous peoples on other continents. Heat, herbs and communal activities form the foundation of these ceremonies which are directed at an overall life-promoting health.

Ritual Components and Methodology:

Structure of the Sweat Lodge: The sweat lodges are simple domed or round huts built of natural materials such as wood and covered in blankets or skins, to represent Mother Earth's womb.

Heated Stones and Steam: The stones are heated in a fire outside the hut and then brought inside to splash with water, which produces steam that makes for great heat.

Spiritual and Healing Significance:

Purification and Cleansing: The steam inside the sweat lodge cleanses the body, mind and soul from toxins and negative energy.

Connection to Nature and Spirituality: For participants, the sweat lodge is a sacred place for communion with nature, ancestors and spirits.

Herbs, Songs, and Rituals:

Use of Medicinal Herbs: Sometimes herbs or sacred plants such as sage, cedar, sweetgrass and the like are added to aid in healing. 

Chants and Prayers: Other elements including ceremonial songs, prayers and drumming also help to form the communal atmosphere of a ceremony.

Conclusion:

All these ancient health practices may seem kind of crazy in our modern eyes, but they illustrate how culture and religion were closely connected with healthcare back then. Though some of these seem strange or even shocking today, they reveal something about the myriad ways people have endeavored to deal with illness and preserve health.