Is it possible to predict the future by slicing open a farm animal and peering inside its liver? Scientists of the 21st century would surely be skeptical about approaching this question, but for the curious minds of ancient times, it was a tried and tested method for looking ahead and foreseeing what the gods had in store for you, your family, or your world.

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Known today as liver divination, this mysterious art was mastered by the ancient Assyrians and Babylonians, two mighty civilizations that flourished in Mesopotamia and carved their names into the bedrock of history. 

We spoke to Dr Selena Wisnom, author of The Library of Ancient Wisdom: Mesopotamia and the Making of History, who believes liver divination is a surprisingly insightful window into this world and the emergence of science. After all, it did manage to predict the election of Trump…

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This interview first appeared in Issue 35 of our digital magazine CURIOUS.