Dogs and the city: medicine and public health in ancient Mesopotamia

ESThe so called “Neolithic Revolution” was the first radical change in the human way of life. On the one hand, sedentarization, resulting from land cultivation, culminated in the creation of the first cities, the oldest of which were located in Mesopotamia. On the other hand, human-animal relationship, now based on a production economy, were strengthened. The accumulation of waste, an endemic problem of the cities, and the increased probability of zoonoses transmission become the new challenges for collective and individual health after this revolution. Although food animals had greater weight in the economic framework of ancient Mesopotamian societies, dogs also exerted great influence, knowing how to adapt like no other species to the new spaces imposed by man. In the Sumerian classification, the canine species is included in the ur group, which comprises other quadruped predators. It is a liminal creature endowed with a marked duality: sometimes guardian at the service of man (shepherd, healer), sometimes his ruin (predator, carrier of rabies). Due to the scarcity of archaeological remains of canids, artistic representations and, especially, texts are the main resource for their study. In this paper we analyze the role of the dog relating to the city and its habitats (the outskirts and the temple). Special attention is devoted to its healing character, a role it embodies as a numinous manifestation of Gula, goddess of healing. Due to dogs’ association to medical practice, an approach that includes the religious dimension is necessary to enable a comprehensive study of disease and patient care in Ancient Mesopotamia. We expect studies such as this one to highlight the interconnectedness of human and veterinary medicines, daughters of the same kind of anthropology.