Prehistoric trepanation often had high survival: estimates across samples range from 50% to 90%, and an Inca-period study in Peru reported 83% overall. The cited studies do not document a 70%–90% rate for Neolithic Ensisheim or support a comparison with 19th-century hospitals. Obsidian and flint could make very sharp tools, but their superiority to modern surgical steel is unproven. Bone remodeling shows survival, while fractures were a likely indication; claims about deliberate sinus avoidance, migraines and intracranial pressure need firmer evidence. 🧠🔧
Trepanation survival reached 83% in Inca Peru; estimates ranged 50%–90% overall
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Key facts
- Trepanation is among the oldest known surgical procedures, involving cutting, scraping or drilling openings in the skull.
- Survival estimates across trepanation samples are commonly about 50%–90%. The 83% overall rate and 75%–83% range concern Inca-period Cuzco, Peru; the cited results do not establish a 70%–90% rate for Neolithic Ensisheim.
- The cited evidence does not support a like-for-like comparison with mortality in 19th-century hospitals.
- Flint and obsidian can produce extremely sharp edges, but the evidence does not establish that they were molecularly sharper than modern surgical steel.
- Damage to the superior sagittal sinus could cause fatal bleeding, but systematic avoidance by prehistoric surgeons is not established by the cited evidence.
- Bone healing and remodeling show that a patient survived the procedure; the extent of remodeling is needed to infer months or years of survival.
- Skull fractures were a likely indication. Proposed uses for migraines and intracranial pressure are less firmly established.
Sources
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
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allthatsinteresting.com
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Prehistoric trepanation in the Cuzco region of Perupubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
by VA Andrushko · 2008 · Cited by 225 — The predominant methods used were circular cutting and scraping-methods that proved highly successful with an overall 83% survival rate and little ensuing ...
Trepanation Reveals the Success of the Incas | ACSfacs.org
the long-term survival rate was 40% and improved to a high of 91% (1000–1400 AD). The average survival rate was determined to be 75%–83% during the Inca period ...
Trepanation in Mesoamericaen.wikipedia.org
In 2008, anthropologists have discovered evidence which suggests that survival rates may have been as high as 80 to 90 percent. Its prevalence among ...
A Hole in the Head: A History of Trepanationthereader.mitpress.mit.edu
The usual estimates for survival of different samples of trephined skulls range from 50 percent to 90 percent with most estimates on the higher ...
Inca brain surgeons improved (after a few centuries)thehistoryblog.com
The predominant methods used were methods that proved highly successful with an overall 83% survival rate and little ensuing infection. 83% ...
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