Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 29, 2025
Controlled Cortical Impact Model for Traumatic Brain Injury
Published on: August 5, 2014
Surviving (but not thriving) after cranial vault trauma: A case study from Transylvania
Jonathan D Bethard1, Timothy J Ainger2, Andre Gonciar3
1University of South Florida, Department of Anthropology, 4202 East Fowler Avenue, SOC107, Tampa, FL 33620, USA.
Objective:
To link an antemortem cranial injury on the left parietal bone with potential neurocognitive consequences.
Materials:
The skeleton of a male individual from a Székely archaeological site in Transylvania was examined. The skeleton was radiocarbon dated to Cal AD 1450 and AD 1640 and presented a well-healed antemortem penetrating cranial injury on the left parietal bone.
Methods:
Macroscopic and radiographic analyses were conducted and the cranium was also archived digitally with a Faro FreeStyle3D scanner. In addition, well-known literature from neuroscience was synthesized in order to better understand the likely neurological consequences of the injury.
Results:
The literature suggests that tasks of attention and working memory, sensory processing, language processing, and vision are affected when the parietal lobe of the brain is injured.
Conclusions:
Burial 195 did not likely return to a 'normal' life after he survived the cranial injury.
Significance:
This study demonstrates that bioarcheological interpretations involving antemortem cranial injuries can be enhanced by collaboration with neuroscientists. Bioarcheological interpretations are improved when the consequences of soft tissue injuries are understood.
Limitations:
This study was limited by a lack of historical documents relevant to the region, time period, and specific case study. In addition, interpretations are cautionary because brain functioning cannot be assessed in vivo in the absence of life.
Suggestions For Further Research:
Bioarcheologists who study antemortem cranial injuries should continue to collaborate with neuroscientists.
More Related Videos
08:25Intravital Imaging of Fluorescent Protein Expression in Mice with a Closed-Skull Traumatic Brain Injury and Cranial Window Using a Two-Photon Microscope
Published on: April 21, 2023
04:26Author Spotlight: A Reproducible and Efficient Method for Accessing Porcine Brain via Craniectomy
Published on: July 5, 2024
Related Concept Videos
01:22Sutures of the Skull
Sutures are immobile joints between adjacent bones of the skull. The narrow gap between the bones is filled with dense, fibrous connective tissue that unites the bones. The long sutures located between the skull bones are not straight but instead follow irregular, tightly twisting paths. These twisting lines tightly...
01:08Overview of the Skull
The cranial vault surrounds and protects the brain and houses the middle and inner ear structures. This cavity is bounded superiorly by the rounded top of the skull, which...
01:14Cranial Bones: Superior and Posterior View
The frontal bone is the single bone that forms the forehead. At its anterior midline, between the eyebrows, there is a slight depression called the glabella. The frontal bone also forms the supraorbital margin of the orbit. Near the middle of this margin is the supraorbital foramen, the opening that provides passage for a sensory nerve to the forehead. The frontal bone is thickened just above each supraorbital margin,...