Trepanation in South-Central Peru — A Brief History
Danielle Kurin, an assistant professor of anthropology at the University of California, Santa Barbara. is one of the leading experts on pre-historic trepanation in the Andes.. Trepanation involves the drilling or boring of a hole in the skull, and is considered a form of brain surgery. Kurin’s several articles, including “Trepanation in South-Central Peru during the early late intermediate period (ca. AD 1000–1250),”her book, and other papers are often cited in the anthropological and medical literature. A popular piece in 2013 was carried in hundreds of newspapers, magazines and in websites around the world, and translated into dozens of languages earning her work worldwide recognition.
Although this procedure is dangerous and can result in death, trepanation has been around for about 5,000 years, during which it was believed to cure certain ailments such as head injury and chronic pain. Over several years of research, supported by Fulbright and other grants, Kurin found and excavated dozens of ancient skulls from five Peruvian prehistoric sites in the south-central highlands of Andahuaylas. Kurin’s analysis focused on 32 individuals who had been subject to 45 trepanations.
Among the various types of trepanations seen, scraping trepanations dominated all others in terms of survival rate — evidenced by bone growth after the procedure. . Other types include drilling and boring, linear cutting, and circular grooving, though they were far less successful compared to scraping trepanations. Accumulated evidence also showed perioperative procedures such as poultice application, hair shaving, and the possibility of cranioplasty to facilitate survival of a trepanned recipient.
Although it was seen that this practice had been used to cure various individuals during the early Late Intermediate Period (ca. AD 1000–1250), not all categories of the overall population received trepanation. Trepanations were not typically carried out on females, subadults, or individuals that practiced cranial modifications.
Most dramatically, Kurin excavated a skull from the period exhibiting 18 individual drill holes and a whole section subjected to multiple drillings. She interpreted the find as evidence of experimentation upon the remains of an obviously deceased person, where practitioners could perfect their surgical techniques and methods. Given that the period was characterized by significant local ethnic tension and conflict, Kurin found surgical experimentation to be indicative of innovation spurred on by the drive to treat and cure those debilitated by injury and infirmity. She likened this to the modern development of prosthetics which sadly enough, grows out horrific injuries suffered in modern warfare.
