ABSTRACT
Surgery requires a sterile operating room, sharp steel scalpels, and doctors in surgical masks. At least that’s the modern version of surgery. But if a prehistoric man in Peru got clonked on the head with a rock, chances are he might have had surgery, too. Trepanation, or skull surgery, has been around since 6500 BC. Archaeologists have found evidence around the world of prehistoric skulls that had holes drilled in them and pieces of bone removed. Surgery requires a sterile operating room, sharp steel scalpels, and doctors in surgical masks. At least that's the modern version of surgery. But if a prehistoric man in Peru got clonked on the head with a rock, chances are he might have had surgery, too. Doctors in 1500s Europe used drills to open up the skulls of their patients hoping to cure mental health problems and headaches.
