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 – the two most fundamental threats to the basis of life – 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
“The 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.” 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’s University Press.
2022
“Lokale Kompetenz oder Techniktransfer? Die unterirdischen Kanalsysteme von Ghayl Ba Wazir, Jemen.” 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
“Majil and Birka: Cisterns in the Western Highlands of Yemen.” In Architectural Heritage of Yemen: Buildings that Fill My Eye, edited by Trevor H. J. Marchand, 156-163. London: Gingko.
2017
“The ‘Iranian Syndrome’ Revisited: The Question of Technology Transfer or Local Development in Hydraulic Engineering.” 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
“The Configuration of the Heavens in Islamic Astronomy.” In Roads to Paradise: Eschatology and Concepts of the Hereafter in Islam (Islamic History and Civilization, 136), edited by Sebastian Günther, and B. Todd Lawson, 1083-1098. Leiden: Brill.
2016
“Medicinal Plants and Their Uses in Classical Arabic Medicine: An Example from Book II of Ibn Sina’s Kitab al-Qanun fi al-tibb.” In Ibn Sina’s Qanun fi al-tibb (Gülhane Studies, 1), edited by Şükrettin Güldütuna, and Detlev Quintern, 41-58. Istanbul: Prof. Dr. Fuat Sezgin Research Foundation for the History of Science in Islam.
2015
“Water Engineering and Management Practices in South Arabia: Aspects of Continuity and Change from Ancient to Medieval and Modern Times.” In South Arabia across History: Essays to the Memory of Walter Dostal, edited by Andre Gingrich, and Siegfried Haas, 43-54. Wien: Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften.
2013
“Denker und Tüftler: Wissenschaft und Technik in klassisch-islamischer Zeit.” In Von Rom nach Bagdad: Bildung und Religion von der römischen Kaiserzeit bis zum klassischen Islam, edited by Peter Gemeinhardt, and Sebastian Günther, 321-355. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck.
2012
Herbal Medicine in Yemen: Traditional Knowledge and Practice, and Their Value for Today’s World (Islamic History and Civilization, 96), edited by Ingrid Hehmeyer, and Hanne Schönig. Leiden: Brill.
“The Validity of Traditional Medicine as an Effective Tool in Issues of Human Health.” In Herbal Medicine in Yemen: Traditional Knowledge and Practice, and Their Value for Today’s World (Islamic History and Civilization, 96), edited by Ingrid Hehmeyer, and Hanne Schönig, 7-20. Leiden: Brill.
Selected Presentations:
Oct. 2023
“Dezentraler Wasserrückhalt: Beispiele aus der Geschichte des städtischen und ländlichen Jemen” – Dezentraler Wasserrückhalt in Kulturlandschaften: Lernen aus der Geschichte (Cura Aquarum, 17th International Conference on the History of Water Management and Hydraulic Engineering), Deutsche Wasserhistorische Gesellschaft, Wolfenbüttel, Germany.
June 2023
“History of Water Management in Yemen: An Interdisciplinary Study” – 3,000 Years of Water Management: Saudi Heritage Commission/Source of Life Project, Radboud University, Nijmegen.
Sept. 2022
“The Hammam in the Pre-modern Muslim City: Ancient Legacies, New Social Customs” – Bathing Culture in Budapest: International Conference of the Frontinus-Society on the History of Water Management and Hydraulic Engineering, Budapest, Hungary.
June 2022
“Sharing Water During Medieval Times: The Underground Canal Systems of Ghayl Ba Wazir, Yemen” – Aqueducts, Canals, Qanats: Construction and Management of Water Conduits in the Late Antique and Medieval Mediterranean and Middle East, Radboud University, Nijmegen.
Dec. 2021
“Mathematics and Its Applications: An Example from Rasulid Zabid, Yemen” – Middle East Studies Association, 55th Annual Meeting (online).
Sept. 2021
“Lokale Kompetenz oder Techniktransfer? Die unterirdischen Kanalsysteme im Jemen” – Frontinus-Gesellschaft: Internationale Gesellschaft für die Geschichte der Wasser-, Energie- und Rohrleitungstechnik (online).
May 2021
“Wasserbau und Wassermanagement im Jemen: Fallbeispiele aus Antike und Mittelalter” – Deutsche Wasserhistorische Gesellschaft (online).
May 2021
“Water and Urban Life in Medieval Zabid, Yemen: Archaeological Remains, Textual Foundations and Religious Implications” – Source of Life Project team, Institute for Culture and History, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands (online workshop).
Oct. 2019
“The Transmission of Knowledge: Examples from Classical Arabic Medicine” – Department of History, University of Western Ontario.
Oct. 2019
“Why is the History of Water Engineering and Management Important? The Example of Zabid, Yemen, and Its Irrigated Farmland” – Institute for Islamic Studies, University of Toronto.
Sept. 2019
“Customary versus Islamic Law: Sharing Water in Yemen from the 14th to the 18th Century” – Contesting Water Management and Water Rights between 600 and the 19th Century, Technical University Darmstadt, Germany.
June 2019
“The Madrasa and the Natural Sciences: Some Practical Aspects as Observed in Medieval Zabid, Yemen” – 1st International Prof. Dr. Fuat Sezgin Symposium for the History of Science in Islam, Istanbul University, Turkey
Current Courses:
HST 325 – History of Science and Technology I
HST 425 – History of Science and Technology II
HST 777 – Medicine from Antiquity to 1500 CE
HST 786 – Science and Technology in Middle Eastern History
HST 787 – Astronomy versus Astrology
HST 788 – Water Use in History
HIS 916 – 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 Européenne des Arabisants et Islamisants