Peseshet
- Reação Feminina
- Mar 21, 2022
- 3 min read
In the past, it was believed that Merit Ptah was the first woman doctor to be registered, in Egypt in 2700 B.C.; however, with new discoveries, it is claimed that Merit Ptah was not a doctor and that in fact, Peseshet was the first woman doctor to be registered.
The physician, historian in the field of medicine and instructor in the department of Immunology and microbiology at the University of Colorado Medicine, Jakub Kwiecinski, went after the history of Merit Ptah and Peseshet, publishing in 2019 in the "Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences" his findings and conclusions (SCIENCEDAILY, 2019). In his research, Jakub discovered that researcher Kate Campbell Hurd-Mead had been confused when she published in her book "A history of women in medicine from the earliest times to the early 1900s" and swapped Merit Ptah's information with that of Peseshet.
In mid-1929 there were excavations at Giza, where they discovered the tomb of Akhethetep, a courtier of the Old Kingdom, probably being a close person of the king. In this tomb there was a false door* with the image of Peseshet as probably being Akhethetep's mother, and in it she is described as "overseer of the women healers".
It is believed that Peseshet lived in the mid-2400 BC and that she was buried in an elaborate tomb in the necropolis of Saqqara, a village in Giza in Egypt. She was known for treating mainly, but not exclusively, women, using medical knowledge, herbs and spiritual rituals. Because her son was a courtier and because he was thought to be close to the king, many hypotheses place Peseshet in a position as a healer and physician to the pharaoh of the time.
She is described as a priestess to the king's mother, as an overseer of the priestesses who cared for her spirit, and as an acquaintance of the king. In the tomb, Peseshet is drawn as being the same size as her husband, because she had the same social status as him, demonstrating her importance at the time and the high position as a physician that she held.
Because Peseshet is described as an "overseer of women doctors" it is believed that she may have taught and passed on her knowledge to countless other women who became prospective doctors. Unfortunately, Kate Campbell Hurd-Mead confused Merit Ptah with Peseshet; however, the new discoveries do not devalue the importance Merit Ptah had in the world, but brings visibility to the true pioneer of women's medicine in history!
*A false door is an artistic representation of a door that, according to the Egyptians of the time, served as a portal between the world of the living and the dead, which the spirits of the dead could leave or enter. It was usually where the family of the dead placed offerings inside the tomb.
Extra content:
There is a very interesting video by Elizabeth Cox on TED-Ed about the supposed daily life of Peseshet. If you are interested just click on the button below:
Sources:
Harer, W Benson Jr MD; el-Dawakhly, Zenab MA PESESHET—THE FIRST FEMALE PHYSICIAN?, Obstetrics & Gynecology: December 1989 - Volume 74 - Issue 6 - p 960-961
PESESHET. Scientificwomen.net. Disponível em <https://scientificwomen.net/women/peseshet--78>.
ADMIN. Peseshet - DREAM BIG. DREAM BIG. Disponível em: <https://dream-big-series.com/beloved-of-the-god-ptah/>.
STARR, Michelle. That Famous Story of The Female Physician From Ancient Egypt Has Turned Out to Be Super Wrong. ScienceAlert. Disponível em: <https://www.sciencealert.com/this-ancient-egyptian-physician-has-been-a-figurehead-for-women-in-stem-one-problem-she-never-existed>.
MARIA CLARA ROSSINI. Mulher considerada a “primeira médica da história” provavelmente nunca existiu. Super. Disponível em: <https://super.abril.com.br/historia/mulher-considerada-a-primeira-medica-da-historia-provavelmente-nunca-existiu/>.
Celebrando 5000 anos de história da Mulher na Ciência - Ciência pelos olhos delas. Ciência pelos olhos delas. Disponível em: <https://www.blogs.unicamp.br/cienciapelosolhosdelas/2016/11/11/celebrando-5000-anos-de-historia-da-mulher-na-ciencia/>.
Celebrated ancient Egyptian woman physician likely never existed: Merit Ptah is often called the first woman doctor, esearcher calls it a case of mistaken identity. ScienceDaily. Disponível em: <https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/12/191216142152.htm>.
Imagem e Arte de: Katie Spencer Finan Disponível em: <https://www.instagram.com/p/BQzWk8SDi8I/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link>
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