XXXVII Scientific Instrument Symposium Leiden/Haarlem, 3-7 September 2018 Instruments and the ‘Empire of Man over Things’ The Abstract Submission Form Journey of medical instruments from Harappa to Gandhara Naila Abbasi, House 206 Lane 7 Askari 10 Rawalpindi 46000 Pakistan
[email protected] Keywords: Harappa, Gandhara, medical instruments Abstract The Harappan civilization in the northwest of South Asia stands as the sixth oldest and as the third largest civilization in world history. Otherwise known as the Indus valley civilization (IVC), it flourished between 3000-1300 BCE. It was followed by the Gandhara civilization, which developed to the north of the Harappan between 1000 BCE and its demise in 1000 AD. In 1931, Sir John Marshal, who pioneered archeological excavations in IVC, mentioned various instruments of domestic use with possible applications in medical and surgical practice, which testify to the scientific acme of the Harappan civilization. Numerous studies have been dedicated to the extant scientific artifacts of Harappa. Most are focused on weights and measures, symbols, and manuscripts, some of which still remain to be deciphered. While some instruments have been fully studied in terms of their function and evolution, many pottery artifacts are yet to be studied in depth. The peculiar shape of some pots and pitchers in particular suggests that they were much more than simple 1 ornamental accessories and common use items. On the other hand, the Gandhara civilization produced highly advanced tools and instruments with unambiguous applications in the medical sciences. This study aims to revisit the Harappan tools and instruments by focusing on their medical applications, and by comparing them with later artifacts from the Gandhara civilization.