ABSTRACT
This chapter, titled “History of Geophagia,” describes the historical aspect of geophagia among humans. This chapter is categorized into four sections. Section 2.2 brilliantly explains the history of geophagia in the prehistoric period. This section mentions the participation of Homo habilis in the habit of geophagia. Sections 2.3 and 2.4 describe the history of geophagia in the ancient and medieval periods of human civilization. These sections describe the writings of famous physicians and thinkers of the ancient and medieval periods like Hippocrates, Pliny, the Roman physician Soranus, and the Persian thinker Ibn Sina regarding the habit of geophagia that was prevalent in society in earlier periods. Section 2.5 puts forward contemporary evidence in favor of the prevalence of geophagia between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries in Europe, America, Africa, and Asia. The chapter gives a vivid account of the ill effects of geophagia on the health of young girls and children. This chapter is crafted keeping in mind the interest of readers in the historical aspects of geophagia among humans.
