History of Latin American Dermatology
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History of Latin American Dermatology

History of Latin American Dermatology History of Latin American Dermatology

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E. SILVA-LIZAMA, P. H. URQUIZU, P. GREENBERG, S. DE LEÓNFigures:1. Old woman withchild2. Baldness3. Deformity of thenosejungle regions to visit their ceremonial centers. The Maya sub-area occupied some325,000 sq. Km, in other words a territory equivalent to triple that which is currently occupiedby the Republic of Guatemala. The Maya occupied the land that currently correspondsto the Mexican states of Chiapas, Tabasco, Yucatán and Quintana Roo, theRepublic of Guatemala, Belize and the western part of the Republic of Honduras. Theirorigins are lost in time, although some Maya specialists believe that it was a culture thatdeveloped on the spot;. and although they themselves began their meticulous account oftime in as remote a time as the year 3113 B.C., the experts haven’t found evidence oftheir culture that can be dated before the year 2000 B.C.Life among these people revolved around the cultivation of corn, which was theirbasic foodstuff. They founded their main ceremonial centers in dry places, far from ariver or lake, like Tikal and Uaxactun; but in other cases they established them next to asource of water, like Copan or Yaxhá.PRE-CLASSICAL PERIOD (2000 B.C.- 300 A.D.)It is also called the “formative period” because the bases for this culture were establishedduring this time. Its considerable duration – 2,300 years – was sufficient to reachthe splendor of the following period, which was the climax of this extraordinary civilization.During this period they were organized into farming groups in the form of villages.The economy was based on agriculture, religion was represented by the cult paid to theearth and natural phenomena, and architecture was of the ceremonial and religious type.CLASSICAL PERIOD (300- 900 A.D.)Over the course of these six hundred years the Mayans reached their maximum culturaldevelopment and splendor. The government was theocratic, i.e., it was carried outby priests, who also held military command and whose succession was hereditary. Theruler was called Halac Uinic and he was supported by the minor chieftains, the clergy,the nobility, the people and slaves. During this period, farming was intensified; the surpluswas sold or exchanged for other products, which caused a major increase in regionaltrade. The development of the sciences was linked to religion. They stood out inastronomy, used their observatories to study the movements of the sun, and the precisionof the Mayan calendar is recognized even today.They demonstrated their knowledge of mathematics and engineering in the constructionof their large buildings, irrigation channels and ditches for carrying rainwater, as well asshifting enormous stones and building materials. Medicine attained a major development inthe use of medical herbs and plants; dentistry was practiced, since real dental replacementswere carried out. Architecture, particularly for religious purposes, was notable during thisperiod with a proliferation of ceremonial centers, roadways and ballgame courts.224

History of Dermatology in GuatemalaPOST-CLASSICAL PERIOD (900-1500 A.D.)The passage to this period was traumatic. It is believed that toward the year900 A.D. there was a prolonged drought that affected the territory of Meso-America foryears (this has been deduced from scientific studies of paleobotany). The Mayan peopledemanded results from their priests, particularly those devoted to the cult of Chac, thelord of the rain, but their efforts were unsuccessful; the people rebelled and, followingbloody revolts, the clergy disappeared. Only the priestly class knew how to read andwrite and jealously guarded their astronomical and agricultural knowledge, so that theMayan centers began to decay. At the same time, there was an invasion of the Toltec fromthe north; these conquerors came from Tula, a city located in the central Mexicanplateau, and their language was Nahuatl. The Toltec seized the Mayan centers. The Indianchronicles, such as the Record of Tecpán or the Popol Vuh, state in their pages howthe Cakchiquel and Quiché came from Tula, in the east, crossing the sea, bringing Toltecgods with them like Tohil, Avilix and Jacavitz, but writing in the Mayan language and employingthe old Mayan calendar with its vigesimal system. The post-classical period wasnoted for being an era of wars, of continual rivalries, and as a consequence of the latterthere arose the native statelets which the Spaniards found on their arrival and whose resentmentsthe governor Don Pedro de Alvarado was able to make use of for his aims ofconquest 1, 9 .Figures:4. Deformity of theface5. Facial deformity6. Facial deformitiesMAYAN MEDICINEThree sources are of importance for the study of Mayan medicine:1) The wealthy artistic materials in which the main diseases are represented.2) The Maya codices, the Popol Vuh and the native writings.3) The old chroniclers who were witnesses to their traditions and customs.It is possible that diseases can also, in some way, explain the decadence of this civilizationwhich need not have envied that of Egypt or Mesopotamia.MAYAN MYTHOLOGYThe Mayans gave medicine a sacred character whose liturgy was known to thepriestly caste as a mysterious science transmitted from fathers to sons. The current Indiansknow very little about these secrets. In Yucatán there still are herbalists and inGuatemala the witch doctors or faith healers are the last representatives of that caste ofnative physicians. The medical deities were many and varied, and competed in powerand majesty.It was believed that diseases could be caused by spirits or beings with supernaturalpowers and could also be the result of natural causes such as accidents or too little ortoo much of something. If the cause was discovered, treatment was possible; for example,225

<strong>History</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Dermatology</strong> in GuatemalaPOST-CLASSICAL PERIOD (900-1500 A.D.)The passage to this period was traumatic. It is believed that toward the year900 A.D. there was a prolonged drought that affected the territory <strong>of</strong> Meso-America foryears (this has been deduced from scientific studies <strong>of</strong> paleobotany). The Mayan peopledemanded results from their priests, particularly those devoted to the cult <strong>of</strong> Chac, thelord <strong>of</strong> the rain, but their efforts were unsuccessful; the people rebelled and, followingbloody revolts, the clergy disappeared. Only the priestly class knew how to read andwrite and jealously guarded their astronomical and agricultural knowledge, so that theMayan centers began to decay. At the same time, there was an invasion <strong>of</strong> the Toltec fromthe north; these conquerors came from Tula, a city located in the central Mexicanplateau, and their language was Nahuatl. The Toltec seized the Mayan centers. The Indianchronicles, such as the Record <strong>of</strong> Tecpán or the Popol Vuh, state in their pages howthe Cakchiquel and Quiché came from Tula, in the east, crossing the sea, bringing Toltecgods with them like Tohil, Avilix and Jacavitz, but writing in the Mayan language and employingthe old Mayan calendar with its vigesimal system. The post-classical period wasnoted for being an era <strong>of</strong> wars, <strong>of</strong> continual rivalries, and as a consequence <strong>of</strong> the latterthere arose the native statelets which the Spaniards found on their arrival and whose resentmentsthe governor Don Pedro de Alvarado was able to make use <strong>of</strong> for his aims <strong>of</strong>conquest 1, 9 .Figures:4. Deformity <strong>of</strong> theface5. Facial deformity6. Facial deformitiesMAYAN MEDICINEThree sources are <strong>of</strong> importance for the study <strong>of</strong> Mayan medicine:1) The wealthy artistic materials in which the main diseases are represented.2) The Maya codices, the Popol Vuh and the native writings.3) The old chroniclers who were witnesses to their traditions and customs.It is possible that diseases can also, in some way, explain the decadence <strong>of</strong> this civilizationwhich need not have envied that <strong>of</strong> Egypt or Mesopotamia.MAYAN MYTHOLOGYThe Mayans gave medicine a sacred character whose liturgy was known to thepriestly caste as a mysterious science transmitted from fathers to sons. The current Indiansknow very little about these secrets. In Yucatán there still are herbalists and inGuatemala the witch doctors or faith healers are the last representatives <strong>of</strong> that caste <strong>of</strong>native physicians. The medical deities were many and varied, and competed in powerand majesty.It was believed that diseases could be caused by spirits or beings with supernaturalpowers and could also be the result <strong>of</strong> natural causes such as accidents or too little ortoo much <strong>of</strong> something. If the cause was discovered, treatment was possible; for example,225

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