3,500 years ago man had a hole drilled through his head, bones show

Although brain surgery is often considered a modern procedure, a new discovery suggests a horrific, primitive form was used in Israel 3,500 years ago.

Scientists excavating a Bronze Age tomb in Israel have discovered the remains of two high-ranking brothers who lived around 1500 BC. and were seriously ill with an infectious disease, probably leprosy.

The researchers say the couple were probably the elite of society and perhaps even members of the royal family.

One of the brothers decided to have an operation called trepanation, in which a piece of bone is drilled and removed from the skull.

It is believed that this brother died a few hours or even minutes after the operation, although other ancient operations of this type were successful.

Trepanation or trepanation is one of the oldest surgical procedures known to mankind, in which a piece of bone is drilled and removed from the skull.  Images show evidence of trepanation in person 1.

Trepanation or trepanation is one of the oldest surgical procedures known to mankind, in which a piece of bone is drilled and removed from the skull. Images show evidence of trepanation in person 1.

Facial injury of Individual 1, older brother who underwent trepanation.  Arrows point to an abnormally shaped anterior nose on the right and a depression in the left maxilla (maxillary bone).

Facial injury of Individual 1, older brother who underwent trepanation. Arrows point to an abnormally shaped anterior nose on the right and a depression in the left maxilla (maxillary bone).

The analysis of the remains was led by Rachel Calisher of Brown University, Rhode Island. published today in the magazine PLOS One.

What is trepanation?

Trepanation or trepanation is a procedure that has been performed throughout history.

It involves the removal of part of the skull and is often performed on animals and humans.

The first recorded evidence of this was on a cow in the Stone Age 3,000 years ago.

This was a process still carried out in the 18th century.

It was believed that in many diseases accompanied by severe pain in the patient’s head, the removal of the round part of the skull would reduce the pressure.

“We have evidence that trepanation has been a versatile and widespread type of surgery for millennia,” said Kalisher, a bioarchaeologist at Brown University.

“But in the Middle East, we don’t see it that often — there are only about a dozen examples of trepanation in this entire region.

“I hope that adding new examples to the scientific record will deepen our understanding of medical care and cultural dynamics in ancient cities in this area.”

The two skeletons were buried in a tomb under an elite residence at the archaeological site of Tel Megiddo in Israel.

The tomb has been dated to the late Bronze Age (c. 1550-1450 BC) and DNA analysis suggests that the interred were brothers.

The brothers were buried with beautifully painted Cypriot pottery, “other fine wares and precious materials” and even the remains of sheep and goats, suggestive of high society.

Both were shown to have had signs of persistent iron deficiency anemia in childhood, which likely stunted growth.

They had extensive bone lesions, indicative of chronic and debilitating diseases such as tuberculosis or leprosy – potentially one of the oldest examples of leprosy in the world.

Because they were brothers, the men may have shared a predisposition to the condition, the researchers said.

“The shared epigenetic landscape could predispose them to similar types of disorders and diseases,” the experts say in their paper.

Both men were buried in a tomb under an elite residence at the Tel Megiddo archaeological site in Israel.

Both men were buried in a tomb under an elite residence at the Tel Megiddo archaeological site in Israel.

The two brothers were buried with fine Cypriot pottery,

The two brothers were buried with fine Cypriot pottery, “other fine wares and precious materials”.

But there were some distinctive characteristics between the two sets of remains that reveal more about their history.

Individual A was between 21 and 46 years old when he died, while individual B died in his teens or early 20s.

Two brothers

Individual A

– Between the ages of 21 and 46 at the time of death

– Healed lesions corresponding to lesions of the skull (cribra orbitalia)

– Extra molar in one corner of the mouth

– Possible congenital syndrome such as clavicular-cranial dysplasia

– Trepanation performed before death

Individual B

– Late teens to 20s.

– Slight signs of healing of cribra orbitalia

– “Common pathological lesions”

Individual A has a square hole in the top of the head – evidence of trepanation – measuring 1.26 inches by 1.22 inches (32 mm by 31 mm) at its widest point.

It was formed by a series of intersecting serrations at each corner, probably a tool with a “sharp, beveled edge leaving clean edges”.

Trepanation has been used to treat a variety of ailments by reducing pressure in the skull, but the lack of bone healing suggests that the man died during or shortly after the operation—within days, hours, or possibly even minutes.

Researchers “can’t be sure” if he died due to the procedure or due to illness, but it certainly took place while he was alive.

“We know the trepanation didn’t heal,” Kalisher told MailOnline.

“But we can’t be sure if the trepanation was the cause or if the person was dying anyway and the trepanation just didn’t work.”

Such treatment, while grim, was probably not available to most Megiddo residents, again reflecting the brothers’ privileged status in life.

Person A died after person B, who first died at a younger age, decomposed and then was reburied after the death of his brother.

The severe state of the couple’s injuries indicates that, despite the severity of the condition, they lived many years longer than they could have had they not enjoyed the luxury of wealth and status.

Left: trepanation of part of the excised fragment of the skull of individual A, remade in the form of a jigsaw.  Right: both surviving parts found during analysis.

Left: trepanation of part of the excised fragment of the skull of individual A, remade in the form of a jigsaw. Right: both surviving parts found during analysis.

Kalisher (pictured) is engaged in a follow-up research project that will study trepanation across regions and time periods, which she hopes will shed more light on ancient medical practices.

Kalisher (pictured) is engaged in a follow-up research project that will study trepanation across regions and time periods, which she hopes will shed more light on ancient medical practices.

Archaeologists know that people have been practicing craniotomy for thousands of years, and doctors today perform a similar procedure called craniotomy to relieve pressure on the brain.

Evidence suggests that ancient civilizations around the world, from South America to Africa and beyond, performed this operation.

The oldest skulls with traces of trepanation date back to around 6000 BC. and have been found in North Africa and Europe, but this case represents the earliest example of trepanation found in the Ancient Near East.

“Among the numerous results of the study, we want to highlight a special type of craniotomy, the earliest of its kind in the region,” the authors say in their article.

“This unusual procedure was performed on an elite individual with developmental anomalies and an infectious disease, leading us to speculate that this operation may have been an intervention in declining health.”

Bizarre historical practice of trepanation

Trepanation is a procedure that has been used throughout human history.

It involves the removal of part of the skull and is often performed on animals and humans.

The first recorded evidence of this was on a cow in the Stone Age 3,000 years ago.

This was a process still carried out in the 18th century.

It was believed that in many diseases accompanied by severe pain in the patient’s head, the removal of the round part of the skull would reduce the pressure.

Prior to this, since the Neolithic Age, people drilled or made a hole in the head of people exhibiting abnormal behavior.

It is believed that this will release the demons contained in the skulls of the sick.

This gruesome-looking set of instruments was used in the 18th century by physicians to perform trepanation, the removal of part of the skull to relieve pressure in the head.

This gruesome-looking set of instruments was used in the 18th century by physicians to perform trepanation, the removal of part of the skull to relieve pressure in the head.