Copy of model of a sheep's liver. Original Babylonian, c. 2050-1750 BC.
- Made:
- 2050-1750 BCE in Babylon and Mesopotamia
Resin replica of a clay model of a sheep's liver used for divination, original Babylonian, original 2050BC to 1750BC
Resin replica of a clay model of a sheep's liver used for divination, original Babylonian and c. 2050-1750BC. Mesopotamian medicine laid great stress on divination, carried out by priests and seers who looked for signs in the stars, or in the organs of sacrificed animals, to tell them things about a patient's illness. Wooden pegs were placed in the holes of the clay tablet to record features found in a sacrificed animal's liver. The priest or seer then used these features to predict the course of a patient's illness.
Related people
Details
- Category:
- Classical & Medieval Medicine
- Object Number:
- A641093
- type:
- divination object
- taxonomy:
-
- credit:
- British Museum
Cite this page
Rights
We encourage the use and reuse of our collection data.
Data in the title, made, maker and details fields are released under Creative Commons Zero
Descriptions and all other text content are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence
Download
Download catalogue entry as json
View manifest in IIIF viewer
Add to Animal Crossing Art Generator
Download manifest IIIF
Our records are constantly being enhanced and improved, but please note that we cannot guarantee the accuracy of any information shown on this website.