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. 2015 May 7:6:72.
doi: 10.4103/2152-7806.156634. eCollection 2015.

Neolithic trepanation decoded- A unifying hypothesis: Has the mystery as to why primitive surgeons performed cranial surgery been solved?

Miguel A Faria  1
Affiliations

Neolithic trepanation decoded- A unifying hypothesis: Has the mystery as to why primitive surgeons performed cranial surgery been solved?

Miguel A Faria. Surg Neurol Int. .

Abstract

The perplexing mystery of why so many trephined skulls from the Neolithic period have been uncovered all over the world representing attempts at primitive cranial surgery is discussed. More than 1500 trephined skulls have been uncovered throughout the world, from Europe and Scandinavia to North America, from Russia and China to South America (particularly in Peru). Most reported series show that from 5-10% of all skulls found from the Neolithic period have been trephined with single or multiple skull openings of various sizes. The unifying hypothesis proposed by the late medical historian Dr. Plinio Prioreschi (1930-2014) regarding the reason for these trepanations (trephinations) is analyzed. It is concluded that Dr. Prioreschi's cohesive explanation to explain the phenomenon is valid and that his intriguing hypothesis is almost certainly correct. In the opinion of this author, the mystery within an enigma has been solved.

Keywords: History of medicine; Neolithic; primitive cranial surgery; trepanation; trephination; trephined skulls.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Prehistoric adult female cranium from San Damian, Peru (unhealed trepanation). Courtesy of the San Diego Museum of Man and their publication entitled Trephined Skulls; published in 1980
Figure 2
Figure 2
Prehistoric adult female cranium from Cinco Cerros, Peru (unhealed trepanation). Courtesy of the San Diego Museum of Man and their publication entitled Trephined Skulls; published in 1980
Figure 3
Figure 3
Prehistoric adult male cranium from Cinco Cerros, Peru (healed trephination). Courtesy of the San Diego Museum of Man and their publication entitled Trephined Skulls; published in 1980
Figure 4
Figure 4
Section of prehistoric human skull with incomplete trepanation, c. A.D. 1000-1250. Skulls from excavated burial caves in the south-central province of Andahuaylas in the Andes, Peru. Courtesy of The Current, University of California at Santa Barbara. Photo credit: Danielle Kurin
Figure 5
Figure 5
Prehistoric human skull with multiple trepanations, including incomplete trephinations, from Monte Albán, Mexico, Museo del Sitio. Courtesy of Medical News Today, Prehistoric Medicine, MediLexicon International Ltd
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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