About 3,000 years ago, Bronze Age medical staff performed ‘brain surgery’ to save the life of an upper-class man.
American CNN reported on the 22nd (local time) about two remains from the 15th century BC found in an Israeli site. One of the supposed siblings was found to have undergone an early form of trephination shortly before his death. A craniotomy is a surgical procedure in which one or more holes are drilled in the skull to treat brain-related disorders.
The remains of the brothers, believed to have been alive between 1550 and 1450 BC, were discovered during excavations at Tel Megiddo, an ancient Israeli site. Archaeologists noted that the ‘older brother’, believed to be between the ages of 20 and 40, had a ‘square hole’ 30 mm in size drilled in the skull.
Rachel Klischer of Brown University, who leads the archaeological team, said the find is one of the few sources from the ancient Near East that proves that craniotomy was a fairly “common operation” in the Bronze Age.
The tomb where the brothers were found was found in an adjacent area of Tel Megiddo Palace. The research team speculated that the brothers were from a ‘high elite’ or ‘royal family’ based on pottery and valuables excavated together. The skeletons of the brothers showed signs of ‘Hansen’s disease’ (leprosy), unlike normal skeletons. The ‘younger brother’ passed away in his teens and early 20s, and the ‘older brother’ died within a few days after undergoing a cranial perforation procedure.
The research team speculated that the medical staff at the time performed the cranial perforation for ‘shamanistic purposes’ to treat the ‘elder brother’ suffering from Hansen’s disease. He said that further research is needed on why the hole in the head is a ‘square’ rather than the usual ‘circular hole’.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.