Babylonians 3000BC – 2000BC
3000-2000 BC – Babylonians divine sheeps’ livers; the belief that the liver is the seat of the soul is probably related to the Babylonian experience during the sacsifice of the sheep and their observation of the size, warmth, and enrichment with blood of the liver leading them to believe it as the repository of life itself. They recognized and mentioned the gall bladder, cytic duct, and bile ducts. They used the liver in the ancient practice of hepatoscopy which was the portrayal of the liver as a deity, and reading the liver o f the sacrificaial animal to predict the outcome of war.
 Babylonian Culture and the Gallbladder |
| Sheep’s liver in clay. 14.6 cm across. Old Babylonian, circa 1900-1600 BC.
Provenance: likely Sippar in modern southern Iraq. British Museum, London, Western Asia Collection # ME 92668
Reference |
Chinese 2000BC
Chinese medicine began in China over four thousand years ago. Traditional Chinese medicine started about 2,000 years ago. The earliest text was the “The Yellow Emperor’s Inner Classic” which was written about 2,500 years ago. “The Herbal” was the earliest classic on herbs.
Chinese medicine is about qi, which is the is the source of life. Qi must flow. Movement reveals that qi exists. Warmth reveals that qi is present. It is all the body’s energies, including electrical, chemical, magnetic, and radiant. Natural forces such as gravity, time, inertia, friction, yin, and yang, affect us both internally and externally.
Much of the qi flows along fourteen major rivers and numerous minor rivulets. The flow in the rivers influence the fluids and energies in the body. Acupuncture points are used to regulate flow in the rivers. The most powerful points on these channels are positiones on the extremities – below the elbows and knees. The rivers of energy are named according to the organs they subtend.
Yin and Yan are oppposite and complementary forces
| Yin | Yin |
| Internal | External |
| Cold | hot |
| Wet | dry |
| Empty | full |
| Solid Organs | hollow |
| heart liver spleen kidneys lungs | stomach, small bowel , gallbladder colon |
The gallbladder is a Yin organ
Etruscans 800 BC
The Etruscan culture starting in about 800BC coninued the practice of hepatoscopy
The Liver of Piacenza, with a diagram and Etruscan inscriptions.