Scientists have discovered an old record of complex brain surgery in China's Xinjiang. Interestingly, there are indications on this perfectly preserved human skull that a head injury was treated surgically by making a hole in the cranium, as per a report in New Scientist. The scientists speculate that Chinese shamanic doctors probably performed the treatment around 2700 years ago.
The Yanghai cemetery, located in Xinjiang, is a large and ancient burial site that houses the remains of a clan who practised shamanism, which is a belief system that involves employing trance to interact with the supernatural. A skull belonging to a man who lived between 750 and 800 BC that was discovered in a cemetery was analysed by Qian Wang of Texas A&M University and his fellow researchers using CT scans.
As per the outlet, the man had suffered a blunt force injury that resulted in an accumulation of blood beneath his head, known as an epidural haematoma. This can be fatal and places strain on the brain.
Similar to how this ailment would be treated today, a bit of the skull was removed by what was likely a shaman doctor in order to heal the injury and relieve the haematoma. This is referred to as a craniotomy in modern surgery. It is performed on patients suffering from head traumas or for the relief of intracranial pressure, among other reasons.
The person survived the treatment and continued to live for at least eight weeks, according to signs of healing found within the walls of the fracture lines.
The researcher said, "In order to successfully remove the haematoma, the doctor was able to design a bone flap according to the injury by using the fracture lines." According to Mr Wang, this is the most " advanced and skilled craniotomy ever found" in the wider Eurasian region.
Mr Wang stated that while there isn't concrete proof that the surgery was performed by a shaman doctor, there are other discoveries in the area that support the theory. One person at the Yanghai cemetery was recognised as a shaman based on a bronze knife and pointed instrument, known as an awl, that were likely surgical instruments and were hanging from his waist. There has been evidence of cannabis use as an anaesthetic at the cemetery.
