Traces of skull drilling operation found in Türkiye’s prehistoric site Catalhoyuk

By Deniz Acik

ESKISEHIR, Türkiye (AA) – Traces of trepanation (skull drilling operation) were found on a skull found in Türkiye's 9,000-year-old prehistoric site Catalhoyuk.

The excavations in Catalhoyuk, which is located in the central Konya province, have been continuing since 2020.

Researchers found new information about mudbrick houses where approximately 8,000 people lived together in the Neolithic Period.
During the excavations, a hole with a diameter of 2.5 centimeters was found on the skull bones of a young male individual.

Examining the skeletal remains, the team determined that the hole belonged to the skull drilling process.

Ali Umut Turkcan, the head of the Catalhoyuk excavation committee, told Anadolu that Catalhoyuk is a "unique region in the world."

Turkcan said they came across a grave covered with a vulture's claw in a house last year.

"The drilling process in the skull of a young individual caught our attention. We saw a clear example of trepanation for the first time in Catalhoyuk," he added.

Handan Ustundag, a member of the excavation's anthropology team, said: "A round bone piece, approximately 2.5 centimeters in diameter, was removed from the side of the skull, with a properly opened circular section."

Ustundag said this skeleton belonged to a young man aged 18-19. "We think this was trepanation for therapeutic purposes," she added.

Noting that trepanation was performed for medical treatment purposes in the past, she said trepanation is a method used in the treatment of headaches, brain hemorrhage, cleaning of broken bone fragments and blood after head trauma, fluid accumulation in the brain and mental disorders.

Catalhoyuk, a 9,000-year-old ancient site, was included in 2012's UNESCO World Heritage List.

The site testifies "to the evolution of the social organization and cultural practices as humans adapted to a sedentary life," according to UNESCO.

*Writing by Gozde Bayar