Ingrid Hehmeyer
Dr. Ingrid Hehmeyer, Professor in the History of Science and Technology, is an agricultural engineer who specializes in human-environmental relationships in the arid regions of ancient and medieval Arabia. Her current research focuses on the history of water technology in medieval Yemen, where she investigates technical innovations in hydraulic engineering and strategies for water management that allowed people to live under harsh environmental conditions. Her second area of research is the history of the medical sciences in the Islamic world. As a licensed pharmacist, she is particularly interested in the use of medicinal substances and their manufacture. The perpetual menace of disease on the one hand, and of water scarcity on the other 鈥� the two most fundamental threats to the basis of life 鈥� led people to resort to magical measures in the hopes that these might change the course of events. Tangible evidence for this exists in the form of magic-medicinal bowls, talismans, and magical symbols, which form a major theme in her research.
Selected Publications:
2022
鈥淭he Challenge of Interpreting Archaeological Remains in the Light of Written Sources: A Discussion Based on the Work of the Canadian Archaeological Mission in Zabid, Yemen.鈥� In Made for the Eye of One Who Sees: Canadian Contributions to the Study of Islamic Art and Archaeology, edited by Marcus Milwright, and Evanthia Baboula, 151-166. Montreal: McGill-Queen鈥檚 University Press.
2022
鈥淟okale Kompetenz oder Techniktransfer? Die unterirdischen Kanalsysteme von Ghayl Ba Wazir, Jemen.鈥� Schriftenreihe der Frontinus-Gesellschaft 33: 183-209.
2019
A History of Water Engineering and Management in Yemen: Material Remains and Textual Foundations (Handbook of Oriental Studies, Section 1: The Near and Middle East, 129). Leiden: Brill.
2017
鈥�Majil and Birka: Cisterns in the Western Highlands of Yemen.鈥� In Architectural Heritage of Yemen: Buildings that Fill My Eye, edited by Trevor H. J. Marchand, 156-163. London: Gingko.
2017
鈥淭he 鈥業ranian Syndrome鈥� Revisited: The Question of Technology Transfer or Local Development in Hydraulic Engineering.鈥� In Proceedings of Water and Life in Arabia Conference 14th-16th December, 2014, edited by Walid Y. Al Tikriti, and Paul A. Yule, 103-114. Abu Dhabi: Tourism and Culture Authority.
2017
鈥淭he Configuration of the Heavens in Islamic Astronomy.鈥� In Roads to Paradise: Eschatology and Concepts of the Hereafter in Islam (Islamic History and Civilization, 136), edited by Sebastian G眉nther, and B. Todd Lawson, 1083-1098. Leiden: Brill.
2016
鈥淢edicinal Plants and Their Uses in Classical Arabic Medicine: An Example from Book II of Ibn Sina鈥檚 Kitab al-Qanun fi al-tibb.鈥� In Ibn Sina鈥檚 Qanun fi al-tibb (G眉lhane Studies, 1), edited by 艦眉krettin G眉ld眉tuna, and Detlev Quintern, 41-58. Istanbul: Prof. Dr. Fuat Sezgin Research Foundation for the History of Science in Islam.
2015
鈥淲ater Engineering and Management Practices in South Arabia: Aspects of Continuity and Change from Ancient to Medieval and Modern Times.鈥� In South Arabia across History: Essays to the Memory of Walter Dostal, edited by Andre Gingrich, and Siegfried Haas, 43-54. Wien: 脰sterreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften.
2013
鈥淒enker und T眉ftler: Wissenschaft und Technik in klassisch-islamischer Zeit.鈥� In Von Rom nach Bagdad: Bildung und Religion von der r枚mischen Kaiserzeit bis zum klassischen Islam, edited by Peter Gemeinhardt, and Sebastian G眉nther, 321-355. T眉bingen: Mohr Siebeck.
2012
Herbal Medicine in Yemen: Traditional Knowledge and Practice, and Their Value for Today鈥檚 World (Islamic History and Civilization, 96), edited by Ingrid Hehmeyer, and Hanne Sch枚nig. Leiden: Brill.
鈥淭he Validity of Traditional Medicine as an Effective Tool in Issues of Human Health.鈥� In Herbal Medicine in Yemen: Traditional Knowledge and Practice, and Their Value for Today鈥檚 World (Islamic History and Civilization, 96), edited by Ingrid Hehmeyer, and Hanne Sch枚nig, 7-20. Leiden: Brill.
Selected Presentations:
Oct. 2023
鈥淒ezentraler Wasserr眉ckhalt: Beispiele aus der Geschichte des st盲dtischen und l盲ndlichen Jemen鈥� 鈥� Dezentraler Wasserr眉ckhalt in Kulturlandschaften: Lernen aus der Geschichte (Cura Aquarum, 17th International Conference on the History of Water Management and Hydraulic Engineering), Deutsche Wasserhistorische Gesellschaft, Wolfenb眉ttel, Germany.
June 2023
鈥淗istory of Water Management in Yemen: An Interdisciplinary Study鈥� 鈥� 3,000 Years of Water Management: Saudi Heritage Commission/Source of Life Project, Radboud University, Nijmegen.
Sept. 2022
鈥淭he Hammam in the Pre-modern Muslim City: Ancient Legacies, New Social Customs鈥� 鈥� Bathing Culture in Budapest: International Conference of the Frontinus-Society on the History of Water Management and Hydraulic Engineering, Budapest, Hungary.
June 2022
鈥淪haring Water During Medieval Times: The Underground Canal Systems of Ghayl Ba Wazir, Yemen鈥� 鈥� Aqueducts, Canals, Qanats: Construction and Management of Water Conduits in the Late Antique and Medieval Mediterranean and Middle East, Radboud University, Nijmegen.
Dec. 2021
鈥淢athematics and Its Applications: An Example from Rasulid Zabid, Yemen鈥� 鈥� Middle East Studies Association, 55th Annual Meeting (online).
Sept. 2021
鈥淟okale Kompetenz oder Techniktransfer? Die unterirdischen Kanalsysteme im Jemen鈥� 鈥� Frontinus-Gesellschaft: Internationale Gesellschaft f眉r die Geschichte der Wasser-, Energie- und Rohrleitungstechnik (online).
May 2021
鈥淲asserbau und Wassermanagement im Jemen: Fallbeispiele aus Antike und Mittelalter鈥� 鈥� Deutsche Wasserhistorische Gesellschaft (online).
May 2021
鈥淲ater and Urban Life in Medieval Zabid, Yemen: Archaeological Remains, Textual Foundations and Religious Implications鈥� 鈥� Source of Life Project team, Institute for Culture and History, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands (online workshop).
Oct. 2019
鈥淭he Transmission of Knowledge: Examples from Classical Arabic Medicine鈥� 鈥� Department of History, University of Western Ontario.
Oct. 2019
鈥淲hy is the History of Water Engineering and Management Important? The Example of Zabid, Yemen, and Its Irrigated Farmland鈥� 鈥� Institute for Islamic Studies, University of Toronto.
Sept. 2019
鈥淐ustomary versus Islamic Law: Sharing Water in Yemen from the 14th to the 18th Century鈥� 鈥� Contesting Water Management and Water Rights between 600 and the 19th Century, Technical University Darmstadt, Germany.
June 2019
鈥淭he Madrasa and the Natural Sciences: Some Practical Aspects as Observed in Medieval Zabid, Yemen鈥� 鈥� 1st International Prof. Dr. Fuat Sezgin Symposium for the History of Science in Islam, Istanbul University, Turkey
Current Courses:
HST 325 鈥� History of Science and Technology I
HST 425 鈥� History of Science and Technology II
HST 777 鈥� Medicine from Antiquity to 1500 CE
HST 786 鈥� Science and Technology in Middle Eastern History
HST 787 鈥� Astronomy versus Astrology
HST 788 鈥� Water Use in History
HIS 916 鈥� Medieval Medical Manuscripts (Senior Seminar)
Professional Affiliations:
German Institute of Archaeology
Deutsch-Jemenitische Gesellschaft
Middle East Studies Association
International Water History Association
Deutsche Wasserhistorische Gesellschaft
Frontinus Society
Union Europ茅enne des Arabisants et Islamisants