Medicine Among the Aztecs

In an age of pandemics, face masks and vaccinations, we can look back and witness the greatest of all catastrophes, the Demographic Catastrophe.

Up to 100 million inhabitants died because of contagious diseases Europeans brought with them to the Americas. Historians have called this “virgin territory,” a land of the “noble savage” where no deaths occurred due to infectious diseases. But is this true? What was medicine like? How did the people of these great civilizations deal with everyday health concerns such as childbirth, sanitation and diseases?

This presentation by Dr. Kim Richardson, USC Lancaster Associate Professor of History, will seek to demonstrate the complexities of these issues within the Aztec Empire and discover what, if anything, we can learn and apply to current concerns.

Presented in person and via Zoom.

Register to attend the virtual lecture

To attend our in-person events, please contact us at usclnasp@mailbox.sc.edu or (803) 313-7172 to reserve your spot on our guest list. There is in-person capacity limit due to COVID-19 and we encourage in-person attendees to register early.