Fun Facts About Trephination
Trephination is one of the most interesting and horrifying procedures I've come across during all my years of anthropological training. Evidence of it shows up on the bone, so of course, I like it. :)
Did you know...
* Trephination is the process of the intentional removal of bone from the skull.
* One of three methods was used to create this hole: either scraping a patch of bone away using a stone or metal tool, cutting out a square or rectangular patch of bone, or drilling out a circular patch of bone.
* This procedure is old, very old. Archaeologists have found recordings of it dating back to the Mesolithic Period (10,000-5,000 BC). Though the procedure continues up to present day, most osteological specimens are quite old themselves.
* Anesthesia wasn't invented until the 1900s, so how did these people handle the pain from such a procedure? Good question. I would think that they either possessed a massive amount of stoicism or were under the effects of some sort of ancient drug, elixir, or hypnosis that allowed them to endure the obvious intense physical stress.
* The exact reasoning behind this surgical procedure is still not 100% certain. However, very probable speculations say that it was either therapeutic or spiritual in nature.
* To be therapeutic, the surgery would have served to relieve headaches and intracranial pressure due, very possibly, to a severe blow to the head. It is interesting to note that many holes due to trephination are found on skulls also showing evidence of blunt trauma. This leads most to believe that trephination was most likely performed for therapeutic reasons.
* To be spiritual, the surgery would have served to release evil spirits. For a patient who was deemed to suffer from a mental illness or epilepsy, the procedure's purpose would have been to rid them of their suffering.
* Upon first sight of a skull showing trephination, one can easily think that the person who underwent the procedure certainly couldn't have survived. Not necessarily true! Actually, the survival rate was quite high. This is determined by the great number of skulls showing healing at the surgical site.
The skull in the corresponding photo shows healing since the hole has these smoothed edges.*Healing meant that the hole's edges were smooth, and the hole itself may have actually shrunk due to much bone regrowth.
* If the individual had died during or soon after the procedure, the hole's edges would have been sharp. However, this can be a tricky diagnosis as some ancient
cultures practiced post-mortem adornment of their skulls, which also results in sharp edges. An unhealed trephination procedure and post-mortem adornment can look exactly the same, so archaeological context may be key in solving the mystery.
~ Knowledge is Power ~
My learning experiences come from:
White, Tim D.. Human Osteology, Second Edition.
San Diego, Academic Press. 2000.
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Waldron, Tony. Palaeopathology. New York,
Cambridge University Press. 2009.
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Chamberlain, Andrew T. & Pearson, Michael Parker. Earthly Remains:
The History and Science of Preserved Human Bodies.
New York, Oxford University Press. 2001.
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Ubelaker, Douglas H.. Human Skeletal Remains: Excavation,
Analysis, Interpretation. Washington, Taraxacum. 1999.
