Enlarge / This skull of a 50-year-old-ish medieval woman, circa 6th to 8th century, shows evidence of trepanation. I. Micarelli et al., 2023
Scientists analyzed the skull of a medieval woman who once lived in central Italy and found evidence that she experienced at least two brain surgeries consistent with the practice of trepanation, according to a recent paper published in the International Journal of Osteoarchaeology. It’s one of the few archaeological pieces of evidence of trepanation being performed on early medieval women yet found, although why the woman in question was subjected to such a risky invasive surgical procedure
→ Continue reading at Ars Technica