Cranial Surgery in Ancient Mesoamerica

In turn, the anthropological definition of trepanation is an intentional and planned opening of the skull, carried out with instruments designed for this purpose (Campillo 1994:41-42; Pahl 1993:20-22). This operation is distinct from cephalic surgery, which is destined to operate on the tissues inside the skull. Not included in this definition are posthumous cranial apertures, like trophy skulls, for example. It can be difficult to detect and confirm trephining from the osteological record alone. Traditional trepanation’s consequences vary from the immediate death of the patient to his short or long-term survival, and the signatures it leaves range from orifices of different shapes and sizes to healed traces of the procedure. These marks are what anthropologists study to interpret or infer biocultural patterns and practices. Evidence of cut and perforated skull vaults are known from many parts of Mesoamerica. They are represented as hanging from rulers’ hips or found among the funerary outfits of important dignitaries. Apart from trophy skulls, human crania were employed during Prehispanic times as prime material for the production of bony implements, amulets and objects of personal adornment.