Scalpels point to Bronze Age brain surgery

Where are you digging? At an early Bronze Age settlement called Ikiztepe, in the Black Sea province of Samsun in Turkey. The village was home to about 300 people at its peak, around 3200 to 2100 BC. They lived in rectangular, single-storey houses made of logs, which each had a courtyard and oven in the front. You have found what appear to be scalpels. That's right. We have just found two cutting blades made of obsidian, a volcanic glass that forms a sharp edge when it fractures. The obsidian must have been imported from another region as there is no natural source of it in the area. Read more.... [More]

It's interesting but considering the complexities of neuurology I struggle to understand how they could diagnose a condition and then operate to correct it. Maybe there was a head wound and the scalpel was used to remove an infected area. In fact obsidian blades are sharper even than surgical steel blades, so some modern surgeons advocate using obsidian scalpels today. A 1993 study on rats showed that cuts made with obsidian blades initially formed narrower scars, and healed quicker, than cuts made with surgical steel scalpels. Unfortunately such blades are not generally approved for use on hu... [More]

Well, if it wasn't for medical purposes, it's probably a ritual practice. Peru had a tribe where they deformed the skulls intentionally which almost looks like a conehead. Might be something in that sense? "Do you smell burnt toast if I touch your brain here?"

I wonder what they used for pain relief...

I wonder what they used for pain relief... vine, a lot lot of vine

Did the Egyptians practice basic brain surgery even before this time.

Did the Egyptians practice basic brain surgery even before this time. http://www.buzzle.com/articles/brain-surgery.html

I'd hardly call it brain surgery. I'd more call it "drilling a hole in the head". Believe it or not, if you dont puncture the membranes inside the skull you can easily survive it.

It's called trepanning. It was used to alleviate intra cranial pressure, along with letting evil spirits out of the head. It's an old form of neurosurgery, I believe it dates back to the Neanderthal.