Neolithic trepanation achieved 70-90% survival rates, outpacing 19th-century hospitals. Trepanation is the oldest known surgical procedure, involving drilling, scraping, or cutting holes in living human skulls Bio-archaeological surveys at Ensisheim in France and other Neolithic sites reveal survival rates of 70-90% 19th-century hospitals in the 1860s had approximately 50% mortality rates for major operations
Bio-archaeological surveys at Ensisheim in France reveal Neolithic trepanation patients had remarkable 70-90% survival rates—far exceeding 19th-century hospitals with 50% mortality for major operations. Ancient surgeons used obsidian and flint tools sharper than modern steel on a molecular level. Bone remodeling shows patients lived for months or years after, treated for fractures, chronic migraines, and intracranial pressure. 🧠🔧
Key Facts
- Trepanation is the oldest known surgical procedure, involving drilling, scraping, or cutting holes in living human skulls
- Bio-archaeological surveys at Ensisheim in France and other Neolithic sites reveal survival rates of 70-90%
- 19th-century hospitals in the 1860s had approximately 50% mortality rates for major operations
- Ancient surgeons used flint and obsidian tools, which are sharper than modern surgical steel on a molecular level
- Surgeons avoided the superior sagittal sinus, a massive venous channel that would cause fatal hemorrhage if breached
- Bone remodeling around trepanation holes proves patients survived for months or years post-surgery
- Procedures treated skull fractures, intracranial pressure, and chronic migraines
Related site: Ensisheim — view location, images, and history on the Ancient Nerds map.
Source: This 31,000-Year-Old Surgery Shouldn’t Exist by Michael Button