Ancient Egyptian medical knowledge revealed by 3,500-year-old texts

By Nell Lewis, CNN

Updated 1558 GMT (2358 HKT) August 31, 2018

An Egyptian papyrus, from between 1500 and 1300 BC, offers a method for diagnosing pregnancy. It advises women to pee into a bag of barley and a bag of wheat. The papyrus is one of many currently being translated by an international team of researchers at the University of Copenhagen. <br />Flip through the gallery to see more intriguing archaeological finds.
Photos: Ancient finds
An Egyptian papyrus, from between 1500 and 1300 BC, offers a method for diagnosing pregnancy. It advises women to pee into a bag of barley and a bag of wheat. The papyrus is one of many currently being translated by an international team of researchers at the University of Copenhagen.
Flip through the gallery to see more intriguing archaeological finds.
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These four dinosaurs showcase the evolution of alvarezsaurs. From left, Haplocheirus, Xiyunykus, Bannykus and Shuvuuia reveal the lengthening of the jaws, reduction of teeth and changes in the hand and arm.
Photos: Ancient finds
These four dinosaurs showcase the evolution of alvarezsaurs. From left, Haplocheirus, Xiyunykus, Bannykus and Shuvuuia reveal the lengthening of the jaws, reduction of teeth and changes in the hand and arm.
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Eorhynchochelys sinensis is an early turtle that lived 228 million years ago. It had a toothless beak, but no shell.
Photos: Ancient finds
Eorhynchochelys sinensis is an early turtle that lived 228 million years ago. It had a toothless beak, but no shell.
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The leg bones of a 7-year-old, recovered from an ancient Roman cemetery, show bending and deformities associated with rickets.
Photos: Ancient finds
The leg bones of a 7-year-old, recovered from an ancient Roman cemetery, show bending and deformities associated with rickets.
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The famed Easter Island statues, called moai, were originally full-body figures that have been partially covered over the passage of time. They represent important Rapa Nui ancestors and were carved after a population was established on the island 900 years ago.
Photos: Ancient finds
The famed Easter Island statues, called moai, were originally full-body figures that have been partially covered over the passage of time. They represent important Rapa Nui ancestors and were carved after a population was established on the island 900 years ago.
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Researchers stand at the excavation site of Aubrey Hole 7, where cremated human remains were recovered at Stonehenge to be studied. New research suggests that 40% of 25 individuals buried at Stonehenge weren't from there -- but they possibly transported stones from west Wales and helped build it.
Photos: Ancient finds
Researchers stand at the excavation site of Aubrey Hole 7, where cremated human remains were recovered at Stonehenge to be studied. New research suggests that 40% of 25 individuals buried at Stonehenge weren't from there -- but they possibly transported stones from west Wales and helped build it.
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The fossil of the newly discovered armored dinosaur Akainacephalus johnsoni was found in southern Utah.
Photos: Ancient finds
The fossil of the newly discovered armored dinosaur Akainacephalus johnsoni was found in southern Utah.
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The foot is one part of a partial skeleton of a 3.32 million-year-old skeleton of an Australopithecus afarensis child dubbed Selam.
Photos: Ancient finds
The foot is one part of a partial skeleton of a 3.32 million-year-old skeleton of an Australopithecus afarensis child dubbed Selam.
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The asteroid impact that caused dinosaurs to go extinct also destroyed global forests, according to a new study. This illustration shows one of the few ground-dwelling birds that survived the toxic environment and mass extinction.
Photos: Ancient finds
The asteroid impact that caused dinosaurs to go extinct also destroyed global forests, according to a new study. This illustration shows one of the few ground-dwelling birds that survived the toxic environment and mass extinction.
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