Palla Ákos szerk.: Az Országos Orvostörténeti Könyvtár közleményei 36. (Budapest, 1965)

N. P. Makletsova, V. V. Guinzburg, D. G. Rokhlin (Leningrád): Trepanation in Fossil Skulls found in the USSR Territory

TREPANATION IN FOSSIL SKULLS FOUND IN THE USSR TERRITORY By N. P. MAKLETSOVA, V. V. GUINZBURG, D. G, ROKHLIN (Leningrád) T ife and customs of ancient man may be, to a certain amount, •*J learnt from finds that archeologists and anthropologists discover in excavations. The not unfrequently observed custom of skull trepanation is of apparent interest. In most ancient days trepanation of the skull was performed by many nations, even while being at the most primitive stages of development. Skulls of ancient inhabitants of Europe, Asia, Africa, South and Central America and of islands in the Pacific have been found bearing evidence of it (Baudouin, Bartnez, Floru, Grimm, MacCurdy, Manouvrier, Moodie, Necrasov, Nicolaescu—Plopsor, Talko—Hryncewicz and others). Some trepanations were performed while a person was alive, some posthumously. The object pursued is not always clear. Broca believed the custom to be rooted in religious conceptions, at the same time admitting the possibility that in ancient days trepanation of the skull was also performed as surgical treatment for some conditions (epilepsia, headache, etc.). There is no doubt that in some instances trepanation was performed not for medical aims, but as a rite of a religious cult. Cartailhac suggested that posthumous trepanation might have been made merely for the purpose of facilitating the drying of the skull, thus enabling the relatives to keep it in their dwelling. There is considerable data published proving that posthumous trepanation was often made to procure amulets, which were usually either round or oval-shaped. The first finds giving evidence of the