Just a few weeks ago, scientists analyzed the skull of a medieval woman who once lived in central Italy and found evidence that she underwent at least two brain surgeries. A recent paper published last week in the journal PLoS ONE reports evidence of trepanning in the remains of a man buried between 1550 B.C. and her 1450 B.C. at the Termegid site in Israel.
Cranial perforation (making a hole in the head) is probably the oldest known example of skull surgery, and although rare, it is still performed today. The skull is usually drilled or scraped to expose the bone. dura mater, the outermost of three layers of connective tissue called meninges, that surround and protect the brain and spinal cord. Accidentally piercing that layer can infect and damage the underlying blood vessels. The practice dates from 7,000 to 10,000 years before him, as evidenced by cave paintings and human remains. In the Middle Ages, trepanation was performed to treat ailments such as seizures and skull fractures.
In the case of medieval female skulls, an oval area at the center of the cruciform defect was evidence of a well-healed trephine. , the scalp was scraped off the bone. This is a historically well-documented method of trepanation that can also explain signs of inflammation and infection. A second operation may have been performed shortly before the woman died. She is one of the few archaeological evidences that piercings were performed on women in the early Middle Ages, but why did the woman in question undergo such a dangerous and invasive surgery? , remains a matter of speculation.
This latest report of a perforation concerns one of two brothers (based on DNA testing of their remains) who were buried together at Tell Megiddo in the Jezreel Valley. The settlement once controlled part of the main land route called Maris Street, which connected Egypt with Syria, Mesopotamia and Anatolia, making Tel Megiddo the center of a thriving city during the Middle and Late Bronze Age. The bodies of the two brothers were found in a tomb near the city’s Bronze Age palace, along with many luxury items, suggesting that the site was part of a palace complex and possibly the residence of a high-ranking official. doing.
One skeleton (individual 1) was largely intact, while the bones of the other (individual 2) were disjointed and partially covered with goat and antelope fossils. The authors believe that individual 2 was buried at a different site between one and three years before his older brother, then exhumed and reburied with his younger brother in a new pit.
Most notably, in the frontal bone of the skull of individual 1, there was a small hole, approximately 32×31 mm at its widest, formed by a series of intersecting notches from which part of the skull had been removed. . The authors report that the instruments used probably had to have sharp beveled edges given the clean margins. They also noted a small scratch “coinciding with an opening in the scalp, a necessary step prior to bone resection.” suggests that he died in
Archaeologists have also recovered two excised skull fragments with cuts on at least two sides, indicating that the surgery was piecemeal. According to the authors, all evidence is consistent with a process known as horn notch trepanation. In this process, a flap of skin is removed, followed by one or two initial grooves are created, which stop before penetrating the soft tissue underneath ( dura mater). Once all the grooved sections have been cut, the practitioner removes them all at once. The authors suggest that these fragments may have been put back into the hole after surgery to promote healing. However, the lack of “proper hygienic storage conditions” may have resulted in fatal complications.
The authors provided speculative ideas as to why the puncture was performed. Bones of both brothers showed evidence of more severe developmental abnormalities in individual 1. Individual 1 had an incomplete fusion of her 4th molar and her two frontal bones (Metopy suture). Both are consistent with a rare skeletal disorder called clavicular dysplasia. (Actor Gaten Matarazzo, who plays Dustin) stranger things, with this condition: )
There are also signs of extensive bone damage in both brothers, likely a chronic debilitating disease. It is one of the likely candidates because it is the most susceptible. However, “identifying leprosy in archaeologically fragmented skeletal remains is notoriously difficult,” the authors write. Therefore, “it is not possible to identify a single underlying disease without further biomolecular testing.”
The author also speculates that the brothers were high-ranking and wealthy, as they survived in such conditions for a very long time and were buried near the palace with so many fine things. , trephine-like interventions were very rare and reserved for those who had access to highly trained practitioners. One case was found in the area.
DOI: PLoS ONE, 2023. 10.1371/journal.pone.0281020 (About DOI).
