Chapter 1: ancient trepanation

Cranial trepanations began to be performed more than 5000 years ago in Europe and as early as the 5th century BC in the New World. It was only in the mid-19th century, however, that men of medicine began to realize that the openings in some of the unearthed ancient skulls were made by individuals skilled in surgery, and that the practice was routinely performed on the living. Some of the first reports on these unusual skulls and their significance came from pioneer neurologists and neurosurgeons, including Paul Broca and Victor Horsley. However, from the start, Broca and Horsley did not agree on why the operations were performed, and the logic behind these early cranial surgeries has continued to generate debate. In Peru, where more trepanned crania have been found than anywhere else, numerous skulls have been associated with head injuries from battles, a finding of special significance for neurologists, neurosurgeons, and neurohistorians.