The Past
Mayan medicine
CAPTION: Chili peppers, which are antimicrobial, were commonly prescribed as a remedy in Mayan civilization
Maya is an ancient civilization that was in the Central America at about 1700 years ago. The Mayans were very respectful to the nature. So, they must act according to the laws of nature to stay healthy or else they would be ill, since they believe that changes in nature could affect human health. Having a positive emotion was also important, because they thought that body and soul were related to each other. When someone was sick, they were taken to the H’men, or the doctor, to be healed. Besides giving herbal medicines, the H’men would also perform some healing rituals. Surprisingly, though it was far from Eastern Asia, its theories and healing methods showed many similarities to the Oriental ones. They explained illness as imbalance in the body and nature. They also had some theories about effects of pulse, life energy and the hot and cold food to human health. The use of acupuncture, and massages to heal illness were also similar to the Oriental practices.