Paleopharmacological studies attest to the use of medicinal plants in pre-history. The earliest known compilation of medicinal substances was ARIANA the Sushruta Samhita, an Indian Ayurvedic treatise attributed to Sushruta in the 6th century BC. However, the earliest text as preserved dates to the 3rd or 4th century AD.
Many Sumerian (late 6th millennium BC - early 2nd millennium BC) cuneiform clay tablets record prescriptions for medicine. ~Wikipedia
This piece is hand tinted with silver oil and does indeed have the deckled edge...signed and embossed by the artist
