RESEARCHERS have uncovered evidence of ancient brain surgery from 2,700 years ago.
Scientists found the skull of a man who lived in China 2,700 years ago – and it had a large hole in it.
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The man had the hole cut into his skull likely to treat a head injury – what’s more, he survived.
Now a recent study believes that this “surgery” was performed by a shamanic doctor.
The research was led by Qian Wang at Texas A&M University and his colleagues.
The team used CT scans to analyze the skull of the man, likely aged between 30 and 35 years.
His trepanned cranium dates back to the Late Bronze Age (800–750 BCE).
It was found in Yanghai cemetery in Xinjiang, an important area for the shamanism era in China.
Analysis of the skull indicates that the male suffered from blunt force trauma on the left side of the head during his lifetime.
“Subsequently, a surgeon performed a therapeutic craniotomy including trepanation and bone flap to treat the hematoma,” the study reads.
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“The surgical area showed signs of well-preserved healing, and the individual survived at least eight weeks.”
These new findings suggest that shaman doctors from that period knew complicated surgical procedures.
It also means that shaman doctors had some general anatomical knowledge – more than previously believed.
“This complicated yet successful craniotomy case from the Yanghai cemetery not only provides archeological evidence of refined neurosurgery but also embodies shamanistic medicine,” the study reads.
“On the basis of cranial anatomy and traumatic conditions during the Bronze Age, the surgery enlightens the relationship between ritualistic trepanation and its medicinal properties.”
To successfully remove the hematoma, the doctor was able to design a bone flap according to the injury by using the fracture lines, Wang told New Scientist.
Wang added that this is just one of other similar discoveries researchers have made that indicate complex brain surgeries were common back then.
