In a striking revelation from a burial site at Camino del Molino, situated in Caravaca de la Cruz in Southeastern Spain, archaeologists have unearthed the remains of a late-Neolithic, early-Cooper Age woman who underwent two cranial surgeries during her adult life.
The discovery has left researchers puzzled, as the intricate trepanations found on the woman’s skull suggest a level of medical expertise not commonly associated with Stone Age communities.
The woman, estimated to be between 35 to 40 years old, exhibited trepanations – surgical entries into the cranium – at a burial site surrounded by 1,348 other individuals. The precision of these trepanations indicates a deliberate attempt to access the dura mater, the outermost layer of tissue enveloping the brain and spinal cord.
Forensic analysis ruled out the possibility of violence or ritual cannibalism, as the areas surrounding the trepanations displayed no fractures. Astonishingly, the woman survived for months after the conclusion of the second surgery, indicating a level of surgical skill and postoperative care previously unseen in the context of the Neolithic / Copper Age.
The significance of this finding lies not only in the advanced medical knowledge demonstrated by these ancient practitioners but also in the societal value placed on individual lives within these primitive communities.
Despite the woman’s age, likely being a grandmother and near the end of her life, she underwent two surgeries in her twilight years. This commitment to the well-being of community members, even those no longer contributing to food production or labor, provides a unique glimpse into the social dynamics of the time.
The Camino del Molino burial site itself is a rich archaeological treasure trove, housing 1,348 individuals who lived during the Neolithic/Cooper Age. The woman in question passed away during the period of the funerary pit’s second use phase, spanning from 2566 to 2239 BCE. Her survival after the surgeries and subsequent death during this timeframe adds a layer of complexity to the understanding of mortality and medical practices in ancient societies.
The authors write in their paper on the discovery in the International Journal of Paleopathology, “This is a cranial region rarely documented in prehistoric trepanations, as it contains the temporalis muscles and important blood vessels.”
Speaking with Live Science about their discovery, one of the authors described the full extent of the procedure and what was probably required in a Paleolithic environment.
Corresponding author on the paper from the Department of Prehistory, Archaeology, and Anthropology at the University of Valladolid, Sonia Díaz-Navarro, said, “This [trepanation] involves rubbing a rough-surfaced lithic [stone] instrument against the cranial vault, gradually eroding it along all its edges to create the hole.”
She also said, “To perform this surgery, the affected individual likely had to be strongly immobilized by other members of the community or previously treated with a psychoactive substance that would alleviate pain or render them unconscious,” adding that plants with natural antibacterial properties must have been used to prevent the obvious and serious risk of infection.
The surgical procedure, as detailed by one of the authors, involved two overlapping holes between the woman’s temple and the top of her ear. The first trepanation measured 2.1 inches wide by 1.2 inches long, and the second, smaller hole – 1.3 by 0.47 inches – was made into the already-healed bone tissue from the first procedure.
The authors suggest a rubbing or scraping technique, rather than drilling, was likely employed to minimize the risk of bleeding. Despite the challenging environment of the Paleolithic era, the authors emphasize the remarkable precision displayed in the use of bladed stones for these surgeries.
While the specific reasons behind the woman’s surgeries remain unclear, the researchers acknowledge the possibility that they were performed in response to a prior injury or wound. Other skeletons at the Camino del Molino site display signs of trauma, leaving room for speculation about the motives behind such intricate surgical interventions in the ancient past.