The Artifact of the Month for May 2026 included artifacts and storyboards that were previously designed and displayed during the March Renaissance Faire that the College presented. By the Middle Ages, bloodletting was widely practiced in Europe and barbers served as pseudo-medical providers. The black matte storyboard illustrates the most common bloodletting instruments. Today, phlebotomy is the practice for gathering small amounts of blood for diagnostic purposes, not as a treatment for some supposed imbalance of body humors. Cupping as a therapeutic practice can be traced back to Galen in the 1st century A.D. Today the ancient practice of applying heated suction cups to the skin is designed to alleviate muscle soreness, improve recovery, and increase range of motion.
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