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Cranioplasty in ancient Peru: a critical review of the evidence, and a unique case from the Cuzco area
Author(s) -
Verano J. W.,
Andrushko V. A.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
international journal of osteoarchaeology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.738
H-Index - 60
eISSN - 1099-1212
pISSN - 1047-482X
DOI - 10.1002/oa.1028
Subject(s) - cranioplasty , neurosurgery , medicine , prehistory , surgery , history , archaeology , skull
Cranioplasty is a well‐known procedure in modern neurosurgery. Although some authors have claimed it was also performed by prehistoric trepanners in various parts of the world, there is little hard evidence to support this. Here we review various claims of cranioplasty in Peru, where trepanation was widely practised in Prehispanic times. We find little support for assertions that cranioplasty was common. One recently discovered burial from the Cuzco region, however, provides the first documented case of the reinsertion of a bone plug into a trepanation opening. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.