Linear Cutting Trepanation in Italy: A Unique Case from Hellenistic Sicily (Third Century BC)

Trepanations in non-adults of the 16th to 18th C. The osteological series of the Church of the Assumption of Valdepeñas (Ciudad Real, Spain)

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the presence of trepanations in an early Modern Age, skeletal collection documented in medical treatises but infrequently reported in osteological collections.

MATERIALS

Analyses were conducted on 387 non-adult crania from the ossuary in the church of the Assumption of Valdepeñas (16th - 18th C.), Ciudad Real, Spain.

METHODS

All complete or semi-complete crania of non-adults (aged 3-20 years) were macroscopically examined.

RESULTS

Trepanation was detected in two adolescents aged 14 and 20 years; no evidence of their survival was observed.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings suggest that trepanation was carried out in rural areas as Valdepeñas in the 16th-18th centuries, where the selection of instruments indicates knowledge of contemporaneous medical treatises.

SIGNIFICANCE

The present study provides new data on trepanation and how it was performed in adolescents during this period.

LIMITATIONS

Understanding the motive for these interventions is highly challenging in the absence of bone lesions, and their occurrence is likely underestimated due to the scant research in skeletal remains from the early Modern Age.

SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH

Further palaeopathological analyses of osteological collections from this period will provide more information about how this surgical technique was perfected.

Cranial Surgery in Italy During the Bronze Age

Skull vault trepanation is a surgical practice that has been found in prehistoric human remains. We carried out a review of the literature on cranial trepanations performed during the Bronze Age in Italy. In total, 19 individuals, most of whom were adult males, with 33 trepanations have been reported, including a new specimen from the Italian Middle Bronze Age (1700-1400 BCE), found at Grotta della Monaca (Calabria). The evidence of cranial trepanations is geographically uneven across Italy, with the highest occurrence in Sardinia. Several trepanation techniques were applied in Italy during this period, where the drilling method was the most common solitary technique utilized. The survival rate of 79.3% in Bronze Age Italy suggests that trepanation was carried out with remarkable success. This analysis gives further insight into ancient human behavior and enhances our knowledge of surgical practices in antiquity, shedding light on the origins of neurosurgery.

New Evidence of Prehistoric Neurosurgery in Italy: The Case of Castello Del Tartaro

Archaeological evidence of trepanation during the European Bronze Age is numerous and testifies a wide application of neurosurgical practices during prehistory. In some particular cases, trepanation may be associated with other peculiar evidence concerning funerary practices. The aim of this paper is to present the case of a woman from the Recent Bronze Age site of Castello del Tartaro (Verona, Italy), who was buried in a prone position and whose skeletal remains presented evidence of probable frontal trepanation. The association between a deviant burial and trepanation could be of interest in better understanding the history and perception of neurosurgical practices during prehistory.