Ancient Peruvian skulls found riddled with HOLES reveal the expertise of Inca cranial surgeries that were twice as successful as those performed centuries later in the American Civil War

Long before anesthesia and the advent of precision medical tools, humans were already performing complex surgeries on one another in effort to beat all sorts of ailments.

Among the most gruesome may be the act of trepanation – in which parts of the skull were scraped, cut, or drilled away to treat everything from headaches or injuries to suspected demonic possession.

Hundreds of prehistoric skulls bearing the tell-tale holes of trepanation have been found in Peru alone, dating as far back as the year 400 B.C.

Despite their prehistoric methods, researchers say the ancient neurosurgeons were experts at the task; during the Inca Empire, the survival rate for the procedure was roughly double what was achieved centuries later during the American Civil War.

‘There are still many unknowns about the procedure and the individuals on whom trepanation was performed, but the outcomes during the Civil War were dismal compared to Incan times,’ said David S. Kushner, clinical professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation at the University of Miami.

‘In Incan times, the mortality rate was between 17 and 25 percent, and during the Civil War, it was between 46 and 56 percent.

‘That’s a big difference. The question is how did the ancient Peruvian surgeons have outcomes that far surpassed those of surgeons during the American Civil War?’

According to a new study published to the journal World Neurosurgery, more than 800 skulls found in the Andean highlands of Peru show signs of trepanation, having one or more holes surgically cut into them.

While this practice is known to have occurred all over the world, the experts say no area comes even close to matching Peru’s history with trepanation.