2000 Years Ago In Peru, Ancient People Were Able To Operate On Skulls Without The Use Of Anesthetics Or Antibiotics

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In the early AD years, while craniotomy was still something of a terror to traditional Chinese medicine, across the globe in present-day South America, the “doctors” of the Andean civilization The ancients considered it their daily routine.

In a procedure known as “trepanation,” the Andeans would use a “trephine” (from the Greek root meaning drill) to create a circular hole in the patient’s skull. When the skull was removed, they were able to look inside the dura mater of the brain.
The brain will then also pulsate, vibrate like a piece of jelly with each breath and heartbeat of the patient.

Andean warriors with head injuries were often the subject of skull drilling. Opening a hole in the head allows doctors to release pressure on their head, which often arises from a hematoma or an excess of cerebrospinal fluid after trauma.
If they are left there, pressure will apply to the brain, causing headaches, dizziness, confusion or even death if they burst.
The ancient Andeans also believed that by opening the skull and releasing the fluid accumulated in the brain, they could also cure mental illness by expelling evil spirits from the head of the sick person.
The piece of skull bone drilled out of the head was then worn around the neck by the Andeans as a further talisman to help them ward off evil spirits.

Evidence of cranial drilling of ancient civilizations has been found at many archaeological sites in South America, throughout history from 400 BC to the Andean period (AD 200-600). Cong Nguyen). Moving on to the Wari Empire (600-1000s), the technique greatly evolved and eventually reached its greatest sophistication during the Inca era, (1400-1500 AD).
During an excavation around the ancient Inca capital of Cuzco, archaeologists found 411 well-preserved skulls in 11 burial sites. There are 66 of these skulls with holes drilled. At another site, they also found 21 of the 59 Inca skulls with holes in their heads.

About 46% of soldiers would die in the process, compared with just 17% of patients during the Inca era. A surprisingly low number considering an era without anesthetics and without antibiotics.
But how can archaeologists accurately tell if an ancient South American craniotomy was successful? The answer was simple, they looked at the wounds on the edge of the skull.
If the cut was sharp, the patient could have died shortly after the surgery and their skull was preserved intact from that mistake of the doctor. On the contrary, if around the drill hole appears protruding finger-like protrusions, it is a sign that the bone is healing and that the patient has survived for a long time after the procedure.

“The Inca-era surgeons were really skilled doctors, ” said Valerie Andrushko, an archaeologist at the University of Southern Connecticut. They clearly knew to avoid drilling into sensitive areas of the skull, which could cause bleeding, infection or brain injury.
And although there were no anesthetics and antibiotics in this era, Andrushko said the Incas may have used some special herbs instead.

“They discovered the healing properties of many wild plants, including coca and tobacco. These plants along with corn beer could have been used to give patients some relief ,” she says. ” Natural antiseptics such as balsam and saponin, a plant with soap-like properties, prevention, can help reduce the chance of infection.”

And on top of that, the doctors had plenty of time to practice and develop their technique to the point of skill.

” They weren’t just lucky ,” Corey Ragsdale ” These doctors have had more than 1000 years to refine their methods,” said a biological archaeologist at Southern Illinois University .