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Toxicology in Worldbuilding
This article is by M.S. Jenkins, and is presented by Worldbuilding Magazine.
The world is a dangerous place, especially for Roman politicians, Hellenistic kings, and babies; ironically all for the same reason. It may be hard to believe, but poison and venom use is archaeologically about as old as human society. Research suggests that early humans were on a quest to improve their ability to hunt animals and combat their rivals and this led to the use of both poisons and venoms to that end. Originally, one or two individuals in a tribe would have this secret knowledge which in time directly led to the role of witch doctor or medicine man. As society developed larger and more complex social structures and began consolidating more authority in government, the use of poison and venom to remove leaders and the antidotes fabricated to protect them became an increasingly important element in recorded history.
Mithridates was a Hellenistic king who lived in the area we now call Turkey, from around 114 to 63 BC, and was obsessed with the fear of being poisoned by his enemies. He used condemned criminals as guinea pigs for his research, and also applied small doses of poison to himself attempting to build an immunity....
Continue reading the Original Blog Post.
Toxicology in Worldbuilding
This article is by M.S. Jenkins, and is presented by Worldbuilding Magazine.
The world is a dangerous place, especially for Roman politicians, Hellenistic kings, and babies; ironically all for the same reason. It may be hard to believe, but poison and venom use is archaeologically about as old as human society. Research suggests that early humans were on a quest to improve their ability to hunt animals and combat their rivals and this led to the use of both poisons and venoms to that end. Originally, one or two individuals in a tribe would have this secret knowledge which in time directly led to the role of witch doctor or medicine man. As society developed larger and more complex social structures and began consolidating more authority in government, the use of poison and venom to remove leaders and the antidotes fabricated to protect them became an increasingly important element in recorded history.
Mithridates was a Hellenistic king who lived in the area we now call Turkey, from around 114 to 63 BC, and was obsessed with the fear of being poisoned by his enemies. He used condemned criminals as guinea pigs for his research, and also applied small doses of poison to himself attempting to build an immunity....
Continue reading the Original Blog Post.