5,300-Year-Old Skull Shows Evidence of Earliest Ever Ear Surgery in the History of Mankind, It Was Successful

People don't typically associate high-end surgeries with ancient times. However, researchers have observed many operation methodologies in their primitive form in ancient times. A human skull excavated in 2018 at Dolmen of El Pendónis in Spain showcased proof of a medical procedure that continues to be performed even today. Findings regarding this skull have been published in Scientific Reports.

Initially, archaeologists did not notice anything out of place in the skull and kept it aside. Their examinations showcased that the skull was 5,300 years old. After some years several researchers from the University of Valladolid, in Spain and one from the Spanish National Research Council in Italy collaborated to take a closer look at the skull. Their analysis indicated that the fossil showed evidence of ear surgery. Researchers claimed that the individual went through a cranial operation which today is known as mastoidectomy. 

If the assertion is true then the remains become the earliest known specimen of human ear surgery, stated Phys.org. Researchers claimed that the individual was a woman. She seemed to be in the age range of 35 to 50 years old, as per examinations. Researchers speculate that she must have been closer to 50 because a lot of her teeth were missing. Experts seeing the skull's condition believed that the individual survived the surgery. The team noted bone regrowth in places where holes had been facilitated in the skull, which indicated healing.

In present times, this procedure is done to clear the infected mastoid bones that are present behind the ear. This surgery is important as failure to correct the issue could lead to deafness and in some extreme cases even cause death. "In this case, the prehistoric surgeon located the focus of the problem—probably because the infection was evident to the naked eye—and successfully intervened, as proven by the bone regeneration observed in both mastoid bones," wrote the researchers in the study.

The procedure was observed in both the ears of the 5,300-year-old skull. Researchers believe that the condition must have been very painful causing the woman to take the risk of such intensive surgery. The woman's auditory canals were more enlarged than normal, which possibly was a consequence of the procedure. Researchers are unsure whether the procedure on both ears took place back-to-back or after a span of a few years, stated Smithsonian Magazine.

Experts claim the skull showcases the proficiency of the ancient population. "What we can say is that certain individuals would have attained a degree of anatomical knowledge and experience as ‘healers’ or budding physicians, if you like, to succeed in this kind of primitive healing," study co-author Manuel Rojo-Guerra, an archaeologist at the University of Valladolid said.

Past studies have claimed that the site where the woman was unearthed had been used by the ancient population as a funerary chamber. The place was in use for around eight centuries from  3,800 to 3,000 B.C. Along with the woman, archaeologists had also found a flint tool, which appeared to have been heated repeatedly. Researchers believe this was because the item was used to stop bleeding.