3,000-year-old human skulls show traces of early craniotomy
ZHENGZHOU, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) – Two human skulls unearthed in Yinxu, or the Ruins of Yin, one of China’s oldest archaeological sites, in central China’s Henan Province, show traces of craniotomy, said Chinese archaeologists.
One of the skulls belongs to a 10-year-old boy, showing a circular perforation about 1 cm in diameter on top of his head.
“The skull surface is smooth and even, indicating the traces of artificial drilling. And the cranium shows that it still grew after the perforation, which suggests the surgery was successful,” said Yue Hongbin, researcher with the Institute of Archaeology under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS).
The other piece of evidence of early craniotomy was found on the fontanelle of the skull of a male adult. The perforation appears in the front of his skull. The inside diameter of the hole measures 8 mm, while the outside diameter measures 19 mm. Read more.
