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Traditional medicine has been practiced in unique ways since the dawn of man. Some of the unique examples of indigenous medicine are written here:
The Aztecs used teonanácatl (“flesh of the gods”), psychedelic mushrooms, in sacred ceremonies. They used the shrooms to communicate with the Gods and diagnose illnesses. Shamans sometimes entered trances to understand the root of a patient’s affliction.
Ancient Peruvian cultures practiced trepanation—drilling holes into skulls—to relieve head injuries, mental illness, or evil spirits. Shockingly, some patients survived. Archaeologists have found evidence of healed bone edges.
Inuit healers applied moldy bread or soil to wounds. They unknowingly were using early antibiotics like penicillin long before it became known to science.
Amazonian tribes tipped blow darts with curare (a paralyzing plant toxin). Europeans later started using it as a muscle relaxant for surgery. However, overdoses caused victims to suffocate while fully conscious.
Cherokee healers carved scary wooden masks to represent diseased spirits. They largely wore them during rituals—where they assumed they got rid of illness by confronting the evil forces head-on.
Some Native American tribes treated severe wounds by cauterizing them with hot stones or embers. They thought the fire purified the body and expelled evil forces.
The Jivaro of Ecuador invented tsantsa—shrunken human heads—to capture the vengeful souls of their enemies. These rituals were believed to protect communities from spiritual retaliation.
The nomadic Scythians (500 BCE) inhaled cannabis vapors during burial rites. It was used to cleanse grief and communicate with the dead. The Greek historian Herodotus described their “howling with pleasure” in steam tents.
Australian Aboriginal healers used bullroarers (whirling wooden instruments) in rituals to summon ancestral spirits, whose voices were believed to diagnose and cure illnesses.
During the Musket Wars, preserved tattooed Maori heads (mokomokai) became morbid curiosities traded with Europeans. Some were even stolen from graves.
The Yanomami tribe licked the toxic secretions of the kambo frog to force vomiting. They thought it purged toxins and strengthened hunters’ stamina.
Zulu sangomas (healers) tossed bones, shells, or stones in order to see patterns to diagnose illnesses. They believed sickness was due to ancestral displeasure or witchcraft.
The San people of the Kalahari chewed Hoodia cactus to hold off hunger during long hunts. Pharma companies later patented its appetite-suppressing compound in modern drugs.
The Mayans administered ritual enemas containing fermented alcohol, psychedelic mushrooms, or tobacco to produce visions. They thought the rectum was a sacred portal to the spirit world.
Pacific Northwest tribes treated wounds with rancid fish oil, which contained natural antibacterial agents from decay—a pungent but effective remedy.
Some Southwest tribes banned alcohol entirely, associating it with spiritual corruption. Tragically, Europeans introduced liquor that later devastated many Indigenous communities.
Ancient Nubian women used crocodile dung as birth control. The acidic pH may have acted as a spermicide, but infections were common.
Chile’s Mapuche people performed machitún exorcisms where shamans sucked “evil objects” (like stones or insects) from a patient’s body to cure supernatural illnesses.
Siberian shamans undertook perilous spirit journeys to retrieve stolen souls, often battling demons in hallucinogenic trances induced by fly agaric mushrooms.
Pre-Columbian Navajo healers used razor-sharp obsidian blades for procedures like bloodletting or removing foreign objects.
Traditional Hawaiian healers performed lomi lomi, a brutal full-body massage that sometimes involved dislocating joints to reset spiritual and physical alignment.
Ancient Daoist alchemists (and later emperors) consumed mercury-laced potions looking for immortality. Many died agonizing deaths from heavy metal poisoning.
Mexico’s Rarámuri runners fueled ultra-marathons with iskiate (chia seed water) and tesgüino (fermented corn beer). Supposably, it enhanced stamina.
Patients in the Cherokee tribe with severe infections were placed in sweat lodges and fed herbal emetics to induce sweating and vomiting—an effective detox at the time.
Alaskan Tlingit warriors practiced ritualistic piercings, cuts, and burns to demonstrate resilience. Healers then used seaweed and sphagnum moss to treat wounds.
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