Team Recreates Bronze Age Trepanation Step-by-Step

The Siberian Times that: “…the key to a successful surgery was the patient’s complete trust and confidence that the surgeon had the necessary skills and knowledge to carry out such an operation.” Another critical element was the patient’s ability to endure the pain. The plants that were being used as painkillers in other areas are not found in Siberia. Instead, the researchers identified other flora used by indigenous peoples to bring a person to an “altered state of mind.” They believe that magic mushrooms, cannabis and even ecstatic styles of dancing were all used for pain control during early brain surgery, 3,000 years ago in Russia. The team has been able to recreate the procedure based on the shape and inclination of the opening’s edges. It seems the patient was lying on his back with his head turned to the right, and that the surgeon likely stood to his left side. A wide cut through the skin and tissue to the bone was made, after which the skin and aponeurosis were peeled away. The shape of the hole suggests the bone was scraped rather than cut, to expose the dura mater. High survival rates following trepanation in ancient times were likely due to the fact that the operations were primarily extradural. After the operation, the opening would have been covered with skin; although it’s unclear if bandages or sutures were used, how the wound was drained, and how any bleeding was stopped. Of course, no written records are left, the experts however, theorize that ‘herbs or red-hot objects’ were used. The grave in which the skull was found had been looted in ancient times, and only a little more than the skull remained, including tubular bones fragments from the ribs and upper limbs. A traditional Karasuk-style knife was also found in the grave, but there is no indication it was used for the surgery. This study has been published in the International Journal of Osteoarchaeology. ]]>