Berezina N.Ya., Abramova A.N., Avakyan A.K., Ivanov A.V., Marmer I.L., Girya E.Yu.The First Cranial Trepanation Find in a Meotian Burial Ground (Starokorsunskiy Settlement No. 2, Krasnodar Region)
Nataliya Ya. Berezina, Candidate of Sciences (Biology), Research Institute and Museum of Anthropology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Mokhovaya St, 11, 125009 Moscow, Russian Federation
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Aleksandra N. Abramova, Candidate of Sciences (History), Head of the Department of Archaeological Funds, Krasnodar State Historical and Archaeological Museum-Reserve named after E.D. Felitsyn, Gimnazicheskaya St, 67, 350000 Krasnodar, Russian Federation
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Artem K. Avakyan, Head of the Tomography Department, PRODIS.NDT LLC, Mironovskaya St, 33, Bld. 26, 105318 Moscow, Russian Federation
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Aleksei V. Ivanov, Archaeologist, Southern Regional Center for Archaeological Research LLC, Gagarina St, 248, 350049 Krasnodar, Russian Federation
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Inna L. Marmer, Restorer, Laboratory of Restoration and Conservation, Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography of the Russian Academy of Sciences of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Universitetskaya Emb., 3, 199034 Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation
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Evgeny Yu. Girya, Candidate of Sciences (History), Senior Researcher, Experimental Traceological Laboratory, Institute of the History of Material Culture of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Dvortsovaya Emb., 18A, 191186 Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation
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Abstract. A young woman’s skeleton dating back to the Meotian archaeological culture was studied during the investigation of the paleoanthropological series of the burial ground of the Starokorsunsky settlement No. 2. The burial ground is located in the Krasnodar Territory and is dated to the 4th century BC – 2nd century AD, while the burial under discussion dates back to the 2nd century BC – 2nd century AD. A trepanation hole with signs of healing was found on the skull of a young female of 17–25 years of age. In order to describe the pathological changes recorded on the cranial vault recommendations applied in modern paleoanthropology were used. Differential diagnosis was performed using descriptive macroscopic and X-ray diagnostic methods. It was possible to establish that the trepanation hole was made at least several years before the death of the individual. We suggested that the reason for the operation could be early synostosis of the skull sutures, and this manipulation was designed to reduce intracranial pressure and headaches caused by it. The article discusses the likely origins of medical skills for surgical manipulation. It is concluded that so far the data obtained do not allow us to speak unequivocally about the acquisition of medical knowledge by Meots from residents of the Asian Bosporus or from the Sarmatian environment.
Key words: paleopathology, Meotes, archaeology, trepanation, craniosynostosis, Prikubanye, early Iron Age.
Citation. Berezina N.Ya., Abramova A.N., Avakyan A.K., Ivanov A.V., Marmer I.L., Girya E.Yu., 2024. Pervaya nahodka trepanatsii cherepa na materialah meotskogo mogil’nika (mogil’nik Starokorsunskogo gorodishcha № 2, Krasnodarskiy kray) [The First Cranial Trepanation Find in a Meotian Burial Ground (Starokorsunskiy Settlement No. 2, Krasnodar Region)]. Nizhnevolzhskiy Arkheologicheskiy Vestnik [The Lower Volga Archaeological Bulletin], vol. 23, no. 3, pp. 38-51. DOI: https://doi.org/10.15688/nav.jvolsu.2024.3.3
The First Cranial Trepanation Find in a Meotian Burial Ground (Starokorsunskiy Settlement No. 2, Krasnodar Region) by Berezina N.Ya., Abramova A.N., Avakyan A.K., Ivanov A.V., Marmer I.L., Girya E.Yu. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.