What is the surprising pregnancy test method using 'barley and wheat' performed in ancient Egypt?



It is important to know the existence of pregnancy early in order to maintain the health of the mother and child.Today, in order to determine the existence of pregnancy, a

pregnancy test that responds to a hormone called human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) contained in urine. The drug is being used. In ancient Egypt, long before the pregnancy test was invented, ' barley and wheat ' were used for pregnancy tests.

Unpublished Egyptian texts reveal new insights into ancient medicine
https://sciencenordic.com/denmark-videnskabdk/unpublished-egyptian-texts-reveal-new-insights-into-ancient-medicine/1457797

Egyptian Papyrus Reveals This Old Wives' Tale Is Very Old Indeed | Smart News | Smithsonian Magazine
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/egyptian-papyrus-reveals-old-wives-tale-very-very-old-indeed-180970066/

Ancient Egyptian Pregnancy Test Survived Millenia Because It Worked | HowStuffWorks
https://science.howstuffworks.com/life/biology-fields/ancient-egyptian-pregnancy-test-survived-millenia-because-it-worked.htm



There are folklore methods to know the pregnancy of women and to determine the sex of pregnant children in cultures around the world. Knowing this information in advance was important for people, as the presence or absence of pregnancy and the sex of the newborn could have a significant impact on their subsequent lives. A method to know such a woman's pregnancy also existed in ancient Egypt.

At the

University of Copenhagen in Denmark, there is a collection of papyrus documents used in ancient Egypt called The Papyrus Carlsberg Collection . A research team at the university deciphered what was written on papyrus, mainly collected in the 1930s, and as a result, medical documents of The Papyrus Carlsberg Collection mention the kidneys of the people of ancient Egypt and eye diseases. It was found that the description of the treatment method etc. was included. In addition, it seems that it was found that a document written around 1400 BC describes 'a pregnancy test method using barley and wheat'.

Documents show that in ancient Egypt, as in modern times, women's urine was used to determine pregnancy. First of all, prepare a bag filled with barley and a bag filled with wheat, and these two bags are used by women of childbearing potential to urinate. If the barley or wheat in one of the bags germinated, the woman was judged to be 'pregnant', and if it did not germinate, it was judged not to be pregnant. In addition, if barley germinated first, it would be a boy, and if wheat germinated first, it would have a girl.


by

Thaysa

The pregnancy test method used by ancient Egyptians has spread to areas beyond the African continent. 'Most of the ideas for medical writing in ancient Egypt reappear in later Greek and Roman writings, extending from here to the Middle Eastern medical writing, where traces to premodern medicine can be found.' Said Sofie Schiødt, a researcher at the University of Copenhagen. The same pregnancy test method used by the ancient Egyptians is also mentioned in the German folklore book of 1699.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is also investigating how accurate this pregnancy test method using barley and wheat is in a study conducted in 1963. This study determined whether men, non-pregnant women, and pregnant women actually urinate and germinate in bags containing barley or wheat.

As a result of the experiment, men and non-pregnant women did not germinate from the bag that urinated, but it was said from the old days that a pregnant woman germinated from the bag that urinated with a probability of 70%. The pregnancy test method was shown to be somewhat accurate. On the other hand, an accurate prediction could not be obtained regarding the theory that boys germinated first from a bag of barley and girls germinated from a bag of wheat. Regarding the reason why barley and wheat germinated only in the urine of pregnant women, it has been pointed out that estrogen, a female hormone contained in the urine of pregnant women, may have promoted germination.



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in Science,   Junk Food, Posted by log1h_ik