Posted on 08/20/2002 5:27:42 PM PDT by blam
Bronze Age had brain surgeons
By Roger Highfield, Science Editor
(Filed: 21/08/2002)
A Bronze Age skull discovered on the banks of the Thames may have belonged to one of the first Londoners to have major head surgery, archaeologists said yesterday.
The hole in the skull suggests a trepanning operation They were intrigued by an irregular hole in the man's skull, measuring approximately 1.75ins by 1.25in.
The lack of fractures around the opening ruled out a blow with a blunt instrument. Instead, the bevelled edge suggested that the man had undergone a primitive operation called trepanation.
The skull was found on the foreshore at Chelsea by Fiona Haughey of the Institute of Archaeology. Radiocarbon dating placed the skull to between 1750BC and 1610BC, the middle Bronze Age, so the operation took place nearly 4,000 years ago.
Dr Simon Mays of English Heritage said: "Trepanning is probably the oldest form of surgery we know."
Chelsea Man would have undergone the operation willingly - the ancients thought that trepanation could cure headaches and migraines by relieving pressure.
Some imagined that evil spirits caused epilepsy or mental illness and that a hole would allow them to escape.
Trepanning would have been done with a scraping tool, probably a flint, using care to avoid piercing the brain. This technique was more survivable than sawing, gouging or drilling used elsewhere in the ancient world.
Dr Mays added: "I would insist on the flint. If you encountered the brain, you would know when to stop."
The pain must have been intense - possibly relieved by alcohol or herbal narcotics.
Bone regrowth shows that the patient survived his drastic treatment, which is unusual. Nor is there evidence of post-operative infection, a leading cause of death.
The area around the hole would have been soft but not painful, because the brain does not sense pain, said Dr Mays. "He would have been walking around happily with this hole in his head for a long period."
The operation did not pierce the membrane around the brain and avoided major blood vessels, suggesting anatomical and surgical skills "not bettered in Europe until classical Greek and Roman times more than a thousand years later".
About 40 trepanned skulls are known in Britain, with the oldest dating back another 1,000 years, in Wiltshire, to the Neolithic period.
The ancient Greek physician Hippocrates recommended trepanning for head wounds and haematoma. The technique is in use today - surgeons create flaps in the skull in order to alleviate bleeding caused by injuries.
The skull will be displayed in the Museum of London's prehistoric gallery which opens in October.
Much like Orin Hatch....
Brain function
Learn about the Symptoms of excess brain function Their motto? "Remember, only your brain stands in your way of your happiness.
Then, for an article that makes more sense Cutting the Cranium
Weren't they doing that to obtain the wisdom of the elders?
I never read that study. It's late but sometime I'll tell you about a study about morphogenetic communication.
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