Washington, Aug 21 (ANI): Anthropologists at the University of Cambridge, England, have suggested that ancient Garamantian civilization, which flourished in the Sahara Desert from 3,100 to 1,400 years ago, might have practised skull surgery.
Anthropologist Efthymia Nikita of the University and her colleagues said skulls of three men from North Africa's ancient Garamantian civilization contain holes and indentations that were made intentionally to treat wounds or for other medical reasons, reports Science News.
Signs of renewed bone growth around the rims of these cranial openings indicate that the men, who lived roughly 2,000 years ago, survived the surgical procedure, stated Nikita.
Given the evidence of widespread trade networks in North Africa several thousand years ago, "the knowledge of cranial surgical techniques must have been among the cultural traits that spread among populations," she added.
Previously excavated North African sites contain the earliest evidence of scraping, cutting or drilling pieces of bone out of people's skulls, a practice known as trepanation.
The research was published online August 9 in the International Journal of Osteoarchaeology. (ANI)
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