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Editorial [Medecines]

Dominique Garcia
Traduction de Madeleine Hummler
Cet article est une traduction de :
Éditorial [Médecines] [fr]
Autre(s) traduction(s) de cet article :
Editorial [Medicinas] [es]

Texte intégral

1It has already been said that archaeology, originally a "daughter of the fine arts" because of its primary vocation to supply European museums with collectors' items, has become, in successive stages, a science. A science which has now acquired its autonomy, its protocols, while at the same time getting rid of its status as an "auxiliary of history", a term still in use not that long ago. A human and social science, which is now at the same level as those of nature and the environment, with which it collaborates more and more closely. At the heart of this interdisciplinarity, the journal Archéopages explores the new objects of study that emerge from this mutation. In addition to the International Symposium "Archaeology of Health - Anthropology of Care" (Nov. 30th - Dec. 1st, 2016 at the Musée de l'Homme in Paris), the delivery of this journal brings together contributions around "Medecine".

2Paradoxically, for the longest time, Men have been kept away from archaeological studies; Only material productions (artifacts, habitats, landscapes ...) or ideals (cults, rites, civilizations ...) caught the attention of researchers and amateurs. Then, in the years 1980-1990, a revival of funerary archaeology allowed the progressive development of archaeothanatology (first proof in 1998!): admittedly deposits of objects, ritual offerings and funerary architecture were interesting, but it was time to place the remains of the deceased at the center of the discourse and to link the so-called biological anthropology (study of human remains) with social anthropology and ethnology.

3Archaeology - at the crossroads of other disciplines - had to reconsider Man not only as a "producer" or a "product" of history, but as the bearer of its own individual or collective history; A sensitive, nuanced and pluralistic history whose health is the essential indicator since it is the reflection of a complex state of equilibrium between an individual and his environment. Man is a major actor of his own environment and changes in lifestyle lead to changes in the health status of populations. The management of health by the group is a cultural fact: the same pathology does not give the same disease depending on the periods and the latitudes; context is essential.

4If the human body (in archaeology, often, only bone remains) records a lot of information on living conditions and activities (environment, diet, working conditions ...), other documents that may be seized by archaeologists and historians make it possible to better understand the state of health of the populations and the art of caring according to various "medical practices". It is this last aspect that the reader will be able to deepen in this delivery of Archéopages, with the prism of different approaches. Concrete elements of the mastery of a know-how, containers of medicinal products are essential witnesses of the knowledge of pharmacopoeia, production, marketing, preservation and the consumption of medical products. The instruments of doctors or surgeons and the physical traces of acts or interventions are also known... They sometimes also rub shoulders with objects of protection; amulets, intaglios or... curse tablets.

5History - even Prehistory - of care is increasingly better analyzed by researchers. If the perception we have of the history of medicine is not strictly linear, we nevertheless distinguish a general evolution. However, the control of acts is assured by individuals or groups with very variable statuses according to the various periods: shamans, druids, doctors, hygienists… The destiny of the patient is in the hands or the spirit of persons carrying an authority which goes beyond their know-how, an authority that reflects a "health system": in every chrono-cultural area can correspond altruistic practices but also economic, social and even political objectives.

6At the heart of this publication, Joël Chandelier (Paris 8) and Denis Roland (National Museum of the Navy / Rochefort School of Naval Medicine) discuss the training of doctors and the build up of medical practices and knowledge from the Middle Ages to the beginning of modern period.

Cranial autopsy observed on an individual buried in the cemetery of Dijon General Hospital.

Cranial autopsy observed on an individual buried in the cemetery of Dijon General Hospital.

The skull cap was placed between the lower limbs. In charge of the operation: P. Chopelain, Inrap.

Photo: N. Kéfi, Inrap.

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Table des illustrations

Titre Cranial autopsy observed on an individual buried in the cemetery of Dijon General Hospital.
Légende The skull cap was placed between the lower limbs. In charge of the operation: P. Chopelain, Inrap.
Crédits Photo: N. Kéfi, Inrap.
URL http://0-journals-openedition-org.catalogue.libraries.london.ac.uk/archeopages/docannexe/image/17754/img-1.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 946k
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Référence électronique

Dominique Garcia, « Editorial [Medecines] »Archéopages [En ligne], 43 | 2016, mis en ligne le 09 avril 2024, consulté le 11 février 2025. URL : http://0-journals-openedition-org.catalogue.libraries.london.ac.uk/archeopages/17754 ; DOI : https://0-doi-org.catalogue.libraries.london.ac.uk/10.4000/archeopages.17754

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Auteur

Dominique Garcia

President and Director of Inrap

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