Neurosurgery During the Bronze Age: A Skull Trepanation in 1900 BC Greece

Papagrigorakis, Manolis J.; Toulas, Panagiotis; Tsilivakos, Manolis G.; Kousoulis, Antonis A.; Skorda, Despoina; Orfanidis, George; Synodinos, Philippos N.

doi:10.1016/j.wneu.2013.01.044

Cited by 21 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…The oldest skeletal evidence of trepanation discovered to date was in a Minoan ossuary in Crete (Early Minoan to Middle Minoan period, 2200-1720 BC). 3 Trepanned skulls belonging to different periods have also been unearthed in Delphi (Middle Bronze Age period, 1700-1750 BC), 21,29 the Peloponnese (Late Helladic period, 1400-1060 BC), 25 Crete (8th century BC), 19 Abdera (7th century BC), 1 and in many other regions, indicating a wide geographic as well as a prolonged chronological distribution. Fabbri et al presented a case of cranial trepanation that was performed at the beginning of the 5th century BC, in a Greek colony in Sicily.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The skull of Chios: trepanation in Hippocratic medicine

Tsermoulas

Aidonis²,

Flint

2014

JNS

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Cranial trepanation is the oldest neurosurgical operation and its roots date back to prehistory. For many centuries, religion and mysticism were strongly linked to the cause of diseases, and trepanation was associated with superstitions such as releasing evil spirits from inside the skull. The Hippocratic treatise “On injuries of the head” was therefore a revolutionary work, as it presented a systematic approach to the management of cranial trauma, one that was devoid of spiritual elements. Unfortunately, there are only a limited number of skeletal findings that confirm that the practice of trepanation was performed as part of Hippocratic medicine. In this historical vignette, the authors present a trepanned skull that was found in Chios, Greece, as evidence of the procedure having been performed in accordance with the Hippocratic teaching. The skull bears a parietal bur hole in association with a linear fracture, and it is clear that the patient survived the procedure. In this analysis, the authors examine the application of the original Hippocratic teaching to the skull of Chios. The rationalization of trepanation was clearly a significant achievement in the evolution of neurosurgery.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The skull of Chios: trepanation in Hippocratic medicine

Tsermoulas

Aidonis²,

Flint

2014

JNS

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“…There are no cases of Bronze Age trepanations, however, in the skeletal material from Argos, as is sometimes referred to in the secondary literature, including Papagrigorakis et al (20,21).…”

Section: Prehistoric Aegean Trepanations In Generalmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In other cases the cause remains unknown, mostly because of the fragmentary state of the skulls. In the discussed paper, Papagrigorakis et al claim that the only case of trepanation, which is localized on the right part of the skull (on the nondominant hemisphere), was found in Kirrha (21) (18,19) the areas of some fractures are encircled or outlined by a residual line, which appears to be cut by a sharp instrument, i.e., surgeon's knife. Unfortunately, very few actual surgical instruments were preserved.…”

Section: Prehistoric Aegean Trepanations In Generalmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The oldest evidence dates back to the Epipaleolithic and Mesolithic (Morocco, Iran, Ukraine, and the Balkans) (6,10,15,17,24). However, some authors (12,21) believe the Early Neolithic period from Einsisheim in France (2) to be the oldest unequivocal case of trepanation. In Aegean-Anatolian area the oldest case of this intervention is considered to come from the Early Chalcolithic period from Kuruç ay-Hö yü k in southwest Anatolia (13).…”

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Skull Trepanations in Bronze Age Greece: An Archaeologist's View

Alušík

2015

World Neurosurgery

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“…Being one of the oldest surgical procedures, cranial trepanation continues to attract considerable interest of anthropologists, archaeologists, and neurosurgeons alike (Andrushko & Verano, ; Erdal & Erdal, ; Giuffra & Fornaciari, ; Kurin, ; Moghaddam et al, ; Papagrigorakis et al, ). One of the most debated issues concerning ancient skull trepanation is the motivation for the procedure.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Over 4,500 years of trepanation in Poland: From the unknown to therapeutic advisability

Lorkiewicz

Mietlińska

Karkus

et al. 2018

Intl J of Osteoarchaeology

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This paper discusses 6 trepanned skulls from central Poland, dating from the late Neolithic (3,000-2,800 BC) to early modern times (18th century AD). Four of them come from a small area in and around the town of Brześć Kujawski in Kujawy, a region of long-lasting and intense human settlement in Poland. The analysed skulls provide striking evidence for the long history of trepanation in this part of Europe. Three surgical techniques were used: sawing, scraping, and drilling, either on their own or in combination with one another. Regardless of the method, all the trepanations were fully healed, which proves long-term survival of the patients. All skulls belonged to adult males, who were generally at a higher risk of trauma in the populations from which 4 of the specimens derive. The studied skulls demonstrate a marked evolution in trepanation practices over time. Trepanations from the late medieval and early modern times tend to be smaller, less life threatening, and clearly made for therapeutic purposes to remedy cranial injuries. The remarkable skills of the surgeons who performed them could be linked to the influence of the renowned Danzig Anatomical School in Gdańsk, which was one of the leading centres of medical and anatomical research in northern and central Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries.

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Neurosurgery During the Bronze Age: A Skull Trepanation in 1900 BC Greece

Cited by 21 publications

References 13 publications

The skull of Chios: trepanation in Hippocratic medicine

The skull of Chios: trepanation in Hippocratic medicine

Skull Trepanations in Bronze Age Greece: An Archaeologist's View

Over 4,500 years of trepanation in Poland: From the unknown to therapeutic advisability

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