Bioarchaeological evidence of care provided to a physically disabled individual from Pachacamac, Peru

New Evidence of Prehistoric Neurosurgery in Italy: The Case of Castello Del Tartaro

“…Evidences of trepanations are momentous in the archaeological record, since they testify the presence and the evolution of neurosurgical practices throughout the history and prehistory of mankind; moreover, their association with other unusual findings is of particular interest, implying a peculiar context related to the practice itself 5 . Recent studies have shown cases of trepanation associated to other remarkable conditions, usually related to clinical circumstances, such as childbirth 5 , as well as to therapeutic or post-traumatic treatments, both on human and animals 3,6,[15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22] ; some cases of postmortem trepanations have also been reported, in which the procedure has been linked to pharmacological or thaumaturgical practices 23 . The association of peculiar funerary practices with evidences of trepanation could also represent a significant finding.…”