Human skull with trepanations, Grave No. 7997, Akanthos, Greece
Place where the object is located
Laboratory of Physical Anthropology, Department of History and Ethnology, Democritus University of Thrace
Story of the object
The skull was discovered in the ancient city of Akanthos, during the excavations carried out by the Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities of Thessaloniki. The burial has been dated to the Classical-Hellenistic period (5th-1nd century BC) and provides the first direct skeletal evidence for the practice of trephination in Hippocratic times. Τhe skull belonged to an old adult woman (50+ years) who lived in the ancient Akanthos between the 5th and the 2nd century BC. In the left parietal bone, there are three therapeutic trepanations, which performed in order to heal head injuries. Τhe sloping sides of the operations suggest that the bone was gradually scraped away with a rasp (ξυστήρ). This technique is known to have been used in the Aegean since the prehistoric times and presents the lowest risk of damaging the underlying anatomical structures. The diploe in the perforated areas has been completely covered with a new layer of compact bone, indicating a long postoperative survival.
Trephination or trepanation is a surgical procedure applied on a human skull for perforating the bone, without hurting existing blood vessels, the meninges and the brain. The term comes from the surgical instrument called “trypanon”, mentioned in the Hippocratic “On head injuries”. In modern literature, the terms trepanation and trephination may be alternately found. One of the main issues discussed concerning trephination is the motives behind the procedure. Bibliography reflects views recognizing therapeutic or magic motivation. Based on osteoarchaeological findings, a trephination may be characterized as therapeutic when there is etiological correlation with some pre-existing head trauma or some other pathological entity. Nevertheless, the motivation may not always be traced (ie mental or other paleopathological “invisible” illnesses such as headaches, epilepsy or migraine). Ritual, religious, or magic trephinations form a second category whose motives may not be located in the skull, because they are not linked to natural characteristics. Lisowski organized trephinations in 3 basic categories: therapeutic (for the treatment of skull fractures), magic-therapeutic (for the treatment of illnesses such as headaches, vertigo, meningitis, epilepsy and mental illnesses that had supernatural causation) and magic-ritual (of ritual character and not for treatment).
- Αηδόνης Α. 2019. Ανθρωπολογική τεκμηρίωση του τρυπανισμού στην αρχαιότητα. Οι περιπτώσεις από την Ιερισσό Χαλκιδικής και τα Μάταλα Κρήτης. ΔΠΜΣ Ιστορία της Ιατρικής και Βιολογική Ανθρωπολογία: Υγεία, Νόσος και Φυσική Επιλογή. Μεταπτυχιακή εργασία. Θεσσαλονίκη. [Aidonis A. 2019. Anthropological documentation of trepanation in antiquity. The cases from Ierisso, Chalkidiki and Matala, Crete. Interuniversity Postgraduate Program History of medicine and Biological anthropology: Health, Disease and Natural Selection.] Masters’ thesis.
- Lisowski, F. P. (1967): Prehistoric and Early Historic Trepanation, in Brothwell D. and Sandison A.T. (eds): Diseases in Antiquity, Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas, pp: 651-672
- Aufderheide, A.C., Rodríguez-Martín, C., (1998) The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Human Paleopathology. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge pp.31-34
- Papagrigorakis, M.J., Toulas, P., Tsilivakos, M.G., Kousoulis, A.A., Skorda, D., Orfanidis, G., Synodinos, P.N., (2014), Neurosurgery During the Bronze Age: A Skull Trepanation in 1900 BC Greece, World Neurosurgery, 81(2): 431-435
- Moghaddam, N., Mailler-Burch, S., Kara, L., Kanz, F., Jackowski, C., Lösch, S., (2015), Survival after trepanation. Early cranial surgery from Late Iron Age Switzerland, International Journal of Paleopathology, 11, Pages 56-65
- Martin, D. C. (2013), Like You Need a Hole in the Head: Tool Innovation a Possible Cause of Trephination. A Case from Kerma, Nubia. Int. J. Osteoarchaeol., 23: 545-556.
Trephination or trepanation is a surgical procedure applied on a human skull for perforating the bone, without hurting existing blood vessels, the meninges and the brain. The term comes from the surgical instrument called “trypanon”, mentioned in the Hippocratic “On head injuries”. In modern literature, the terms trepanation and trephination may be alternately found. One of the main issues discussed concerning trephination is the motives behind the procedure. Bibliography reflects views recognizing therapeutic or magic motivation. Based on osteoarchaeological findings, a trephination may be characterized as therapeutic when there is etiological correlation with some pre-existing head trauma or some other pathological entity. Nevertheless, the motivation may not always be traced (ie mental or other paleopathological “invisible” illnesses such as headaches, epilepsy or migraine). Ritual, religious, or magic trephinations form a second category whose motives may not be located in the skull, because they are not linked to natural characteristics. Lisowski organized trephinations in 3 basic categories: therapeutic (for the treatment of skull fractures), magic-therapeutic (for the treatment of illnesses such as headaches, vertigo, meningitis, epilepsy and mental illnesses that had supernatural causation) and magic-ritual (of ritual character and not for treatment).
- Αηδόνης Α. 2019. Ανθρωπολογική τεκμηρίωση του τρυπανισμού στην αρχαιότητα. Οι περιπτώσεις από την Ιερισσό Χαλκιδικής και τα Μάταλα Κρήτης. ΔΠΜΣ Ιστορία της Ιατρικής και Βιολογική Ανθρωπολογία: Υγεία, Νόσος και Φυσική Επιλογή. Μεταπτυχιακή εργασία. Θεσσαλονίκη. [Aidonis A. 2019. Anthropological documentation of trepanation in antiquity. The cases from Ierisso, Chalkidiki and Matala, Crete. Interuniversity Postgraduate Program History of medicine and Biological anthropology: Health, Disease and Natural Selection.] Masters’ thesis.
- Lisowski, F. P. (1967): Prehistoric and Early Historic Trepanation, in Brothwell D. and Sandison A.T. (eds): Diseases in Antiquity, Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas, pp: 651-672
- Aufderheide, A.C., Rodríguez-Martín, C., (1998) The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Human Paleopathology. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge pp.31-34
- Papagrigorakis, M.J., Toulas, P., Tsilivakos, M.G., Kousoulis, A.A., Skorda, D., Orfanidis, G., Synodinos, P.N., (2014), Neurosurgery During the Bronze Age: A Skull Trepanation in 1900 BC Greece, World Neurosurgery, 81(2): 431-435
- Moghaddam, N., Mailler-Burch, S., Kara, L., Kanz, F., Jackowski, C., Lösch, S., (2015), Survival after trepanation. Early cranial surgery from Late Iron Age Switzerland, International Journal of Paleopathology, 11, Pages 56-65
- Martin, D. C. (2013), Like You Need a Hole in the Head: Tool Innovation a Possible Cause of Trephination. A Case from Kerma, Nubia. Int. J. Osteoarchaeol., 23: 545-556.
Unit of the Educational Material connected (2 - 1)
Label
Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities. Photo provided by the Laboratory of Physical Anthropology, Department of History and Ethnology, Democritus University of Thrace
