A group of archaeologists found a skull from 5,300 years ago that may have belonged to the first ear surgery patient.
The skull, which Spanish researchers found in a Spanish tomb, showed several cut marks around the left ear canal, implying a surgery around the ear to relieve pain.
“These evidences point to a mastoidectomy, a surgical procedure possibly performed to relieve the pain this prehistoric individual may have suffered as a result of otitis media and mastoiditis,” the Spanish researchers concluded in an article released on Tuesday in Scientific Reports.
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The skull, which researchers conclude belonged to a middle-aged woman living in the Neolithic Age, was discovered in a tomb known as the Dolmen de El Pendon, which is located in Burgos, Spain. The skull was discovered in 2016 by researchers from the University of Valladolid among the remains of nearly 100 others.
The skull showed evidence of two perforations on both sides of the skull near its mastoid bones, which indicates that the surgery attempted to relieve growing pressure in the ear canal.
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While the procedure would have helped reduce the pressure, it also would have been painful due to it using simpler instruments and likely required the patient to be held down by others, the researchers said. For example, a flint blade was found in the dolmen with traces of bone on the blade, implying the “healer” may have used it for cauterization.
