The Egyptian mummies , along with the oracle bones of the Shang dynasty of China, were shrouded in mysticism and became miracle medicine, one for Europeans and the other within Chinese society.
This led to the loss of part of the archaeological remains of both cultures, which through subsequent studies were given their rightful place to learn more about their time and importance.
Egyptian mummies in Europe
Through authors such as Pliny the Elder (23-78), Dioscorides (40-90) and Avicenna (980-1037), we know of the healing virtues that a Persian exotic product, bitumen or tar known as “mumia”, had. It was attributed medicinal properties, could treat abscesses, fractures, epilepsy, vertigo, which led to an excessive spread of its use in Europe from the Middle Ages onwards.
In response to the high demand for the original product - tar or bitumen - it became necessary to begin searching for a substitute, Egyptian mummies, which had an appearance of being blackened and were thought to have similar properties (Davis, 2001, p. 439).
The ancient Egyptians believed that for the individual's transcendence into the afterlife, soul and body must remain together, which led to mummification of corpses. Although it began naturally in Egypt around 3400 years ago due to climate and sand, over time it was perfected with body preparation and use of certain products like natron.
Herodotus in the 5th century BC explains three methods of mummification used in ancient Egypt. In the first method, internal organs (liver, intestines, lungs and stomach) are removed through a left-side incision. The second method extracts organs dissolved by the anus with an oil obtained from juniper resin, and in the third no part is extracted from the body. In all cases, the body is dried with natron for seventy days (Davis, 2001, p. 440; Herodotus, 1992, pp. 374-375).
Beyond ritualism, mummification was key in medicine. For example, powdered mummies (figure 1) as a remedy for any ailment were used in Europe even by kings, who had their own reserves to use them in case of illness or injury, from colds, toothache, fatigue, diarrhea, and generally, for all types of ailments.
Its application ranged from plasters to suppositories, orally mixed with herbs, wine or other ingredients. Additionally, its versatility allowed it to be integrated into other formulas, so it was used for making essences, elixirs, liqueurs and balms (García Marrasé, 2015, p. 1017).
For Paracelsus (1493-1541) there was no better remedy than the human body reduced to medicine (Guelbenzu Fernández, 2018, p. 62). Thus, by mid-seventeenth century, mummies had become a commodity and medicinal product.
In response to the constant high demand for mummies, they were “falsified”. In 1564, Guy de la Fontaine, personal physician of the King of Navarre, went to the city of Alexandria (Egypt), and discovered that the bodies had not even been four years old. It did not matter their origin, nor was the mummification process followed by ancient Egyptians (Guelbenzu Fernandez, 2018, p. 66).
In addition to Guy de la Fontaine's testimony that they were not pharaohs' but criminals and slaves' bodies, since the sixteenth century, the Christian view of the mummy trade was associated with Jews as merchants (García Marrasé, 2015, p. 1025). In the eighteenth century, the falsification of mummies stopped, and their demand as a remedy began to decline. By 1880 they coexisted with the development of Egyptology.
The oracle bones of the Shang dynasty
The Shang dynasty (1550-1046 BC) occupied what are now Henan, Hubei, Shandong and northern Anhui in China (figure 2). Thirty sovereigns succeeded each other from Tang, considered the first ruler to the last king, Zhou Xin (1154-1122 BC).
At the head of political organization was the Wang, king, political, religious leader and supreme commander, supported by an administration composed of civil officials of different ranks, military officials, oracles, and priests. Thus, society was made up of nobles, officials, warriors, merchants, artisans, farmers, and slaves (Botton Beja, 2019, p. 49).
The economy was based on agriculture (millet, oats, wheat, barley, rice...) and animal husbandry (pigs, horses, sheep, chickens, ducks, oxen...). In addition, they had specialized craftsmanship, workshops were located outside the city, distributed north and south for bronze, west for potters, and northwest for those working with bone and jade. Among the works stand out jade carvings, silk weaving, and bronze casting for ritual vessels with zoomorphic and geometric decorations (Botton Beja, 2019, p. 49; Doval, 2011, p. 44).
Throughout the dynasty its capital was moved six times, the last one Yin (present-day Anyang in Henan) was founded possibly around 1350 BC by King Pan Gen. It is recognized as one of the most significant sites for a large deposit of oracle bones.
The oracle bones were a set composed of tortoise shells and animal shoulder blades, individually selected to be treated, completely removing flesh and blood, sawed and scraped to define a totally flat surface. They formed part of divination rituals by pyromancy specific to royal households (Botton Beja, 2019, p. 50; Doval, 2011, pp. 48-49).
Holes were made in the bones internally in a certain order. Then hot rods were inserted and, due to the heat applied to the bone, it cracked. The purpose was that from these cracks, the gods' response would be read by court diviners or even by the king himself . Finally they were buried in pits. Thus, in 1936 a large pit with approximately 170,000 bones was found (Doval, 2011, p. 48).
Therefore, we can differentiate three phases: the question to the oracle, its response and the actual outcome (Doval, 2011, p. 47). These inscriptions contain what is considered the earliest Chinese writing and provide information about royal genealogy and highlight themes such as diseases, births, deaths, weather, military matters, agriculture, harvests, hunting, tributes, building construction or divine assistance, among others (figure 3).
Throughout the dynasty they maintained worship of ancestors, elements and forces of nature (sun, moon, rivers, mountains...) and the supreme god, Shangdi or "The One Above", was "a more abstract divine entity" (Botton Beja, 2019, p. 50) important for Shang sovereigns, linking them to a higher deity to ensure political and natural order. Therefore, the oracle bones are the record of the dialogue between kings and spirits, real royal ancestors, nature spirits (López Saco, 2024, p. 70).
A large number of oracle bones were unearthed by local farmers to be sold in traditional medicine markets as "dragon bones", whole or ground up, with the aim of treating diseases. However, they were not recognized as support for ancient Chinese writing until 1899 by scholar Wang Yirong (1845-1900).
According to sources, Wang was suffering from malaria and his friend, scholar Liu È (1857-1909), came to visit him to prepare medicine based on "dragon bones". At that moment he discovered strange marks with signs, the ancient Chinese writing (Doval, 2011, p. 47), and investigating their origin led him to the discovery of a significant number of oracle bones , in Xiaotun, a village near northwest Anyang.
Towards the end of the nineteenth century, specifically in 1899, researchers discovered that these "dragon bones" were sold as medicine in pharmacies and would be an important sample of the royal court archives of Shang in Anyang.
The bones found in this village were studied by historian Wang Guowei, who defined the bone remains as the first written and archaeological evidence of the existence of the Shang dynasty (López Seco, 2024, p. 71).
As a conclusion, each of these material evidences belonging to distinct cultures were used as medicinal elements for all types of ailments.
Furthermore, the oracle bones constitute the most archaic testimony of Chinese writing and real evidence of the existence of the Shang dynasty, which along with the Xia were considered legendary.
Bibliography
Botton Beja, F. (coord.). (2019). A Brief History of China. Colegio de México, Centro de Estudios de Asia y África.
Davis, A. R. (2001). Mummification. In D. B. Redford (ed.). The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt Vol. II. Oxford University Press, 439-444.
Doval, G. (2011). A Brief History of China. Ediciones Nowtilus.
Drioton, E. & Vandier, J. (1964). History of Egypt. Eudeba.
García Marrasé, E. (2015). Merchants of Mummies. The Myth of Egyptian Mumia in the Commercial Context of the Modern Age. In J. J. Iglesias Rodríguez, M. M. Pérez García, & M. F. Fernández Chaves (eds.) Commerce and Culture in the Modern Age. Communications from the XIII Scientific Meeting of the Spanish Foundation for Modern History. Editorial Universidad de Sevilla, 1005-1027.
Guelbenzu Fernández, M. J. (2018). Egyptian mummy powder. A craving for the Queen of Navarre. Proclamation No. 50, 62-67.
Herodotus. (1992). History. Book II: Euterpe (C. Schrader, Trans.). Editorial Gredos.
López Saco, J. (2024). Preimperial China. Neolithic and Bronze Age. Venezuelan Association of Chinese Studies (AVECh), Universidad de los Andes (ULA).
Parra Ortiz, J. M. (2010). Mummies. The Defeat of Death in Ancient Egypt. Crítica.
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