This skull tells us about medicine in prehistoric times. It was dredged
from the Thames above Hammersmith Bridge in the early 20th century. The
skull is between three and five thousand years old.
Early medicine
The skull has a hole in the top which was probably caused by a head
injury. Because there is about five years' regrowth of bone around the
hole, we know this person survived their wound. Early head injuries were
probably left open to heal slowly. If the wound was closed without
antiseptics, it could have caused an infection in the person's brain and
killed them. Early medical awareness knew to avoid this.
Evidence of an operation?
When this skull was first found, experts believed the hole was due to a
medical treatment called trepanning. Using a flint tool, someone would
make a hole in the person's head to relieve conditions such as migraines
or epilepsy. Trepanning was practised from prehistoric times onwards. As
there are no signs of surgery on this skull, it is now thought this
person's injury was accidental.
