Salting Babies. Innovation and Tradition in Premodern Procedures for Neonatal Care

The paper studies two aspects of the procedures of neonatal care explained by ancient and medieval medicine: the application of salt to the newborn’s skin in order to harden it, and the alternative proposed by Ibn Zuhr, anointment with acorn oil. The latter procedure was echoed by several physicians in al-Andalus and was known to the physicians of the Renaissance, some of whom preferred it to all other methods. Ibn Zuhr’s anointment with acorn oil is analyzed as a case study that broadens our knowledge of the innovative character of this author, one of the outstanding physicians in the history of al-Andalus medicine, and of the doctrinal change and its transmission in Pre-Modern medicine. The paper sketches the history of the application of salt in newborns, a practice still in use at present time, from its early antecedents in the Semitic cultures to Late Middle Ages and Renaissance, studying in particular the main sources of neonatal care in Greek and Arabo-Islamic medicine. Another ancestral procedure for the same purpose, rubbing with henna, and the interaction between learned and folk medicine are also considered within the framework of the discussion of whether salt or acorn oil was better for newborns

Salting Babies. Innovation and Tradition In Premodern Procedures for Neonatal Care

The paper studies two aspects of the procedures of neonatal care explained by ancient and medieval medicine: the application of salt to the newborn's skin in order to harden it, and the alternative proposed by Ibn Zuhr, anointment with acorn oil. The latter procedure was echoed by several physicians in al-Andalus and was known to the physicians of the Renaissance, some of whom preferred it to all other methods. Ibn Zuhr's anointment with acorn oil is analyzed as a case study that broadens our knowledge of the innovative character of this author, one of the outstanding physicians in the history of al-Andalus medicine, and of the doctrinal change and its transmission in Pre-Modern medicine. The paper sketches the history of the application of salt in newborns, a practice still in use at present time, from its early antecedents in the Semitic cultures to Late Middle Ages and Renaissance, studying in particular the main sources of neonatal care in Greek and Arabo-Islamic medicine. Another ancestral procedure for the same purpose, rubbing with henna, and the interaction between learned and folk medicine are also considered within the framework of the discussion of whether salt or acorn oil was better for newborns

De Alejandría a Córdoba: la Medicina según Ibn Rushd y la tradición araboislámica

Ibn Rushd considered medicine as a productive art in his al-Kulliyyāt fī l-ṭibb, written between 1162 and 1169, and as a science in his commentary on Ibn Sīnā’s poem on the subject (Sharḥ Urjūzat Ibn Sīnā fī l-ṭibb), written in 1180. In Kulliyyāt, Ibn Rushd followed quite strictly the ideas on the status of medicine propounded by the philosopher al-Fārābī. In Sharḥ Urjūzat Ibn Sīnā, Ibn Rushd summarised the conceptions of several works including Ḥunayn ibn Isḥāq’s Masā’il fīl-ṭibb, Ibn Sīnā’s Qānūn fī l-ṭibb and al-Fārābī’s works on Aristotle’s logic. The joint analysis of these sources and the evidence provided by a new manuscript of Ibn Rushd’s Sharḥ give us a clearer idea of the conception of medicine extant in this latter work and, in consequence, we can reconsider and relativise the difference between it and the conception expounded in Kulliyyāt. Ibn Rushd’s ideas on the status of medicine are analysed according to the sociopolitical context in which they were conceived, taking particular account of the fact that Sharḥ Urjūza Ibn Sīnā fī l-ṭibb was written for the intellectual and political elites of the Almohad regime.Ibn Rushd consideró la medicina como un arte productivo en su al-Kulliyyāt fī l-ṭibb, escrito entre 1162 y 1169, y como una ciencia en su comentario al poema de Ibn Sīnā sobre la medicina (Sharḥ Urjūzat Ibn Sīnā fī l-ṭibb), escrito en 1180. En Kulliyyāt, Ibn Rushd sigue de manera bastante estricta las ideas sobre el estatus de la medicina del filósofo al-Fārābī. En Sharḥ Urjūzat Ibn Sīnā, Ibn Rushd sintetiza las concepciones de varias obras, entre las cuales Masā’il fī l-ṭibb de Ḥunayn ibn Isḥāq y Ḥubaysh, Qānūn fī l-ṭibb de Ibn Sinā y las obras sobre la lógica aristotélica de al-Fārābī. El análisis conjunto de estas fuentes, más las aportaciones de un nuevo manuscrito de Sharḥ Urjūzat Ibn Sīnā, proporcionan una idea más clara de la concepción de la medicina expuesta en esta obra y, en consecuencia, podemos reconsiderar y relativizar la diferencia entre esta concepción y la que se expone en Kulliyyāt. Las ideas de Ibn Rushd sobre el estatus de la medicina se analizan de acuerdo con el contexto sociopolítico en que fueron concebidas, considerando especialmente el hecho de que Sharḥ Urjūza Ibn Sīnā fī l-ṭibb fue escrito para las elites intelectuales y políticas del régimen almohade

The safarī pomegranate and dunniqāl fig: The transmission of names and species in al-Andalus

Safarī y dunniqāl (‘zafarí’ y ‘doñegal’) son términos que designan, principal y respectivamente, a variedades de granada e higo en las fuentes andalusíes, aunque aparecen relacionados con otras especies. Ambas variedades se siguen cultivando hoy en día, especialmente en Andalucía y Marruecos. La documentación léxica y literaria de estos nombres es relativamente abundante en árabe. Este material es objeto de una revisión crítica encaminada a conocer, con mayor precisión, el origen, el desarrollo y la transformación de las especies y variedades designadas con estos adjetivos, y todo ello en el contexto de una reflexión de carácter metodológico sobre las dificultades de analizar las fuentes árabes y sus contextos históricos.Abstract: Safarī and dunniqāl (zafarí y doñegal) designate, respectively, types of pomegranate and fig in Andalusī sources, even though they are also related to other species of fruit. Safarī pomegranates and dunniqāl figs are still cultivated nowadays, particularly in Andalusia and Morocco. The information about both types of fruit is relatively abundant in Arabic lexical and literary sources. This material is critically analyzed in order to gain further insights into the origin, the development and the transformation of the species and types of fruit designated by these adjectives. This analysis is done within a reflection of a methodological nature about the problems posed by the analysis of Arabic sources and their historical contexts

Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr y los anwāʾ: astronomía y religión en al-Andalus

Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr (368/978-463/1071), one of the most outstanding Andalusi legal scholars of the 5th/11th century, includes a long chapter on anwāʾ in his Kitāb al-Tamhīd, a treatise about the ḥadīth contained in Mālik ibn Anas’ Muwaṭṭaʾ. This chapter is studied, together with related texts, in its two fundamental aspects. On a literary level, the chapter contains a kind of abbreviated anwāʾ treatise that constitutes one of the rare examples of Andalusian texts related to this genre in the Taifa era. On the religious level, the chapter expresses a debate on the legality of the anwāʾ centered on the hadith transmitted by Ṣāliḥ ibn Kaysān that condemns anwāʾ as a pre-Islamic belief. Due to its extensive and thorough treatment of the subject, this chapter of the Tamhīd is one of the documents that provides greater insight into the underlying problem of the anwāʾ system and derived literature: its legality, taking into account that it is based on a pagan belief. The debate acquires its full meaning when it is situated in a broader discussion, frequent in 5th/11th century-al-Andalus: the correct use of astronomy in a religious context, be it mathematical astronomy of Greek origin or popular Arabic astronomy linked to the anwāʾ, considering the opposition to astrology, generally rejected by legal scholars.Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr (368/978-463/1071), uno de los mayores ulemas andalusíes del siglo V/XI, incluye un largo capítulo sobre los anwāʾ en su Kitāb al-Tamhīd, que se estudia, junto a textos afines, en sus dos aspectos fundamentales. En el plano literario, el capítulo contiene una especie de tratado de anwāʾ abreviado que constituye uno de los raros ejemplos de textos andalusíes relacionados con este género en la época de los taifas. En el plano religioso, el capítulo expresa un debate sobre la licitud de los anwāʾ centrado en el hadiz transmitido por Ṣāliḥ ibn Kaysān que condena los anwāʾ en tanto que creencia preislámica. Por su tratamiento extenso y profundo del tema, el capítulo del Tamhīd es uno de los documentos que aporta un mayor conocimiento sobre el problema de fondo del sistema de los anwāʾ y la literatura derivada: su licitud teniendo en cuenta que se basa en una creencia pagana. El debate adquiere todo su sentido cuando se sitúa en una discusión más amplia, frecuente en el s. V/XI andalusi: el uso correcto de la astronomía, ya sea la astronomía matemática de origen griego o la astronomía popular árabe vinculada a los anwāʾ, en un contexto religioso, teniendo en cuenta la oposición a la astrología, considerada generalmente por los ulemas como una disciplina ilícita

Factors affecting rework costs in construction

Rework adversely impacts the performance of building projects. In this study, data were analyzed from 788 construction incidents in 40 Spanish building projects to determine the influence of project and managerial characteristics on rework costs. Finally, regression analysis was used to understand the relationship between the contributing factors, and to determine a model for rework prediction.Interestingly, the rework prediction model showed that only the original contract value (OCV) and the project location in relation to the company’s headquarters contribute to the regression model. The Project type, the Type of organization, the Type of contract and the original contract duration (OCD) which represents the magnitude and complexity of a project, were represented by the OCV. This model for rework prediction based on original project conditions enables strategies to be put in place prior to the start of construction, to minimize uncertainties and reduce the impact on project cost and schedule, and thus improve productivity.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Ibn Bāŷŷa contra Abū l-ʿAlāʾ Zuhr. Poesía satírica y ciencias racionales en la época almorávide

In a passage of Nafḥ al-ṭīb by al-Maqqarī (m. 1041/1632) whose source is unknown, there are two satirical couplets exchanged by the most important physicians of the first half of the 12th century, Ibn Bāŷŷa and Abū l-ʿAlāʾ Zuhr. The first compares the second with the “angel of death”. The second says that the first is a heretic who deserves execution (seemingly, because he was a philosopher). These verses may be interpreted in many ways, the simplest of which is that they express a harsh rivalry as much personal as professional.  Two versions of the verses, slightly different from each other, appear in four sources written between the 12th and the 13th centuries. These works attribute the verses to Ibn Bāŷŷa and two other poets. One of these sources strongly suggests Ibn Bāŷŷa was not the author. It is therefore probable that the story told by al-Maqqarī was invented in order to express something more than a personal enmity. The literary and historical analysis of the several versions of this story provides interesting insights into, on the one hand, the horizontal relationships between the experts in philosophy and the sciences; on the other, the vertical relationships between these scholars and the Almoravid regime.En un pasaje del Nafḥ al-ṭīb de al-Maqqarī (m. 1041/1632) cuya fuente no consta, aparecen dos pareados satíricos realmente pugnaces intercambiados por los dos médicos más importantes de la primera mitad del siglo XII: Ibn Bāŷŷa y Abū l-ʿAlāʾ Zuhr. El primero compara al segundo con el ángel de la muerte. El segundo acusa de hereje al primero (presumiblemente porque era un filósofo) y pide su ejecución. Estos versos pueden interpretarse de distintas maneras. La más sencilla es considerarlos la expresión de una profunda rivalidad, a la vez personal y profesional. Dos versiones algo distintas entre sí de los versos atribuidos a  Ibn Bāŷŷa aparecen en cuatro fuentes escritas entre los siglos XII al XIII, que los atribuyen no sólo a Ibn Bāŷŷa, sino a otros dos autores. Una de ellas indica que probablemente Ibn Bāŷŷa no fue el autor. Es probable, por lo tanto, que la historia narrada por al-Maqqarī fuera inventada para expresar algo más que una enemistad personal.  El análisis literario e histórico de las distintas versiones de esta polémica permite conocer mejor, por una parte, las relaciones horizontales entre de los sabios dedicados a la filosofía y las ciencias; por otra, las relaciones verticales de estos sabios con el régimen almorávide. En un pasaje del Nafḥ al-ṭīb de al-Maqqarī (m. 1041/1632) cuya fuente no consta, aparecen dos pareados satíricos realmente pugnaces intercambiados por los dos médicos más importantes de la primera mitad del siglo XII: Ibn Bāŷŷa y Abū l-ʿAlāʾ Zuhr. El primero compara al segundo con el ángel de la muerte. El segundo acusa de hereje al primero (presumiblemente porque era un filósofo) y pide su ejecución. Estos versos pueden interpretarse de distintas maneras. La más sencilla es considerarlos la expresión de una profunda rivalidad, a la vez personal y profesional. Dos versiones algo distintas entre sí de los versos atribuidos a  Ibn Bāŷŷa aparecen en cuatro fuentes escritas entre los siglos XII al XIII, que los atribuyen no sólo a Ibn Bāŷŷa, sino a otros dos autores. Una de ellas indica que probablemente Ibn Bāŷŷa no fue el autor. Es probable, por lo tanto, que la historia narrada por al-Maqqarī fuera inventada para expresar algo más que una enemistad personal.  El análisis literario e histórico de las distintas versiones de esta polémica permite conocer mejor, por una parte, las relaciones horizontales entre de los sabios dedicados a la filosofía y las ciencias; por otra, las relaciones verticales de estos sabios con el régimen almorávide