Did
Chalcolithic surgeons possess medical knowledge which remains poorly-understood
to this day?
It sounds counter-intuitive, but
there is some evidence to suppose that long-bone fractures heal faster if
patients have also sustained traumatic skull injuries. The exact mechanism is
not fully-understood, but may involve the cytokine interleukin-6, bone morphogenic
proteins, and prolactin, all of which are released in response to a brain
injury. What is remarkable is this might have been known in Chalcolithic times – and used as a treatment.
In 1992, archaeologists
discovered the Early Chalcolithic cemetery of Pontecagnano in southern Italy,
associated with the Gaudo Culture and dating to around 4,900 to 4,500 years
ago. PC 6589.1 is a 25-year-old male, whose skull shows two lesions. The right
thigh bone shows a poorly healed mid-shaft fracture, which had resulted in a
chronic infection of the bone marrow known as osteomyelitis affecting both
thigh bones.
The condition would have been
disabling and was probably the ultimate cause of death, but an
evidently-skilled prehistoric surgeon had attempted a cure. The skull lesions were
the result of surgical trepanations of the skull cap, where holes had been made
in the skull to expose the dura mater. One hole was apparently produced by
scraping; the other by drilling with a stone point. There is evidence of
significant bone regrowth, suggesting lengthy postoperative survival of the
patient.
While the procedure was
undoubtedly carried out with the intention of freeing the patient from his
painful and disabling condition, the exact reason is not clear. The traditional
explanation is that trepanning releases evil spirits associated with the
symptoms affecting the patient, but it is possible that healers were aware of a
strange curative phenomenon which modern medical science is only now
rediscovering.
References:
Petrone, P. et al., Early Medical Skull Surgery for
Treatment of Post-Traumatic Osteomyelitis 5,000 Years Ago. PLoS One 10
(5), e0124790 (2015).
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