Trepanned skull: Image courtesy of Plataforma SINC
Two skulls with
perforations have been exhumed in the area of Gormaz in Soria, Spain by
researchers from the universities of Oviedo and Leon. They have been
dated to the 13th and 14th centuries – a period in which trepanation
was not commonly practised.
Trepanation, an ancient practice
Drawing of the two skulls and their trepanation (above is the female and below is the male). Image: Esther Gómez López
Trepanation has been around for a very long time. The earliest
examples found go back to the beginning of the Neolithic Period some
10,000 years ago. There are even authors who suggest that such
iatrogenic practices (induced by physicians) began at the end of both
the Palaeolithic Period and the Mesolithic Period some 12,000 years
ago.
Nonetheless, little evidence exists for later periods, such as the
Middle Ages. The two skulls in Soria trepanned for medical purposes
between the 13th and 14th centuries are therefore a surprising finding.
They were discovered in the area surrounding the San Miguel hermitage
in the area of Gormaz by researchers from the universities of Oviedo
and Leon.
“As of the Bronze Age, cases of trepanation are common
throughout Europe, mainly in the Mediterranean Basin. In the Iberian
Peninsula there are many cases that have been dated back to the Copper
Age some 4,000 years ago. However, our scientific literature lacks much
more in the description of trepanation during the Middle Ages,” explains SINC Belén López Martínez, researcher and the University of Oviedo and co-author of the study.
