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posted by takyon on Saturday August 20 2016, @11:44PM   Printer-friendly
from the memory-hole dept.

3,000yo brain surgery patient likely treated with cannabis, magic mushroom 'painkillers' - study

A Russian researcher has published a new study on a 3,000-year-old medical procedure in which the patient was likely anaesthetized with natural hallucinogens and rhythmic music before the surgeon chiselled into their skull. The study of a Bronze Age man's skull has shed some light into how ancient people of the Krasnoyarsk region in northern Russia treated intracranial diseases.

Published in the International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, the study suggests that mind-bending natural stimulants such as magic mushrooms, cannabis and even the beat of a drum were used to dull the pain caused by primitive surgical instruments. Discovered at the Anzhevsky burial ground last year, the human skull is around 3,000 years old. It features a curious hole to the left parietal lobe, which scientists believe was the result of moderately successful ancient brain surgery, or trepanation.

Dr Sergey Slepchenko, of the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography in Novosibirsk, told The Siberian Times the patient survived the initial procedure but likely died later from complications during the recovery period. "The surgeon probably stood face-to-face to the patient on the left side. Or the surgeon may have fixed the head with his left arm or between his knees [and] operated with his right hand," Slepchenko said.

[...] "One of the most dangerous complications of trepanation is bleeding which develops immediately after the skin incision," Dr Slepchenko said. "To minimize bleeding and reduce pain, the operation had to be carried out as fast possible by presumably highly-skilled surgeon. It is not clear how they stopped the bleeding."

I loved the title of the article. I didn't realize there were very many 3,000 year old patients, let alone candidates for brain surgery.

Ante Mortem Cranial Trepanation in the Late Bronze Age in Western Siberia (DOI: 10.1002/oa.2543)


Original Submission

 
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  • (Score: 3, Informative) by JNCF on Sunday August 21 2016, @12:45AM

    by JNCF (4317) on Sunday August 21 2016, @12:45AM (#390805) Journal

    Here's the part of the article relevant to drug use:

    Use of anaesthesia

    Trepanation opening with evident signs of healing suggests successful early surgery in eastern Siberia during ancient times. However, considering the nature of trepanation, only a few studies have addressed the question of anaesthesia (Zäuner et al., 2011). No direct evidence suggests that drugs were used to minimize pain during operations performed in reliterate eras. However, many records and ethnographic materials collected worldwide show evidence of different methods of altering consciousness that may have been used as a proxy anaesthetic (Lindensmith, 2008; Guerra Doce, 2006; Koschel, 1996; Coles & Coles, 1989; Gizbert, 1961; Merlin, 1984; Anthony et al., 1991; Pashkevich, 1999; Rudenko, 1970; Herodotus, 2003; Krasheninnikov, 1949; Georgi, 1799). Such records and ethnographic materials cannot be inferred to draw direct parallels to actual practices but, instead, only serve as an example of changing attitudes and practices in the use of anaesthetics in ancient times.

    Although plants serving this purpose are largely absent in Siberia, a few plants causing altered states of consciousness were applied in shamanic practices. For instance, the Nivkhi would burn wild rosemary (Ledum palustrel,Ledum hypoleucum) sticks and leaves for their rituals (Otaina, 1994). Shamans of the Udeghes, Ulchs, Nanai and Orochi threw Ledum leaves on a hot griddle during shamanistic rituals (Brehman & Sam, 1970; Podmaskin, 1978). Smoke from the burning leaves facilitated shamanic trance and caused mild hallucinatory effect. Some people of Siberia used juniper (Juniperus sibirica) and thyme (Thymus vulgaris) in shamanic practices for the same purpose (Otaina, 1994). Cannabis (Cannabis sativa) is another plant that may have been used to alter consciousness and/or as a therapeutic agent (Chang, 1968). It is well known that the Scythians consumed cannabis (Herodotus, 2003; Pashkevich, 1999). Strong evidence suggests the consumption of cannabis in the Pazyryk culture in south Siberia (Rudenko, 1970). Wild marijuana still grows in eastern Siberia, and we can only speculate that the population who left the Anzhevka I burial ground consumed cannabis to enter altered states of consciousness and/or minimize pain.

    Because plants containing psychotropic and hallucinogenic substances are scare in Siberia, the use of fly agaric mushrooms (Amanita muscaria) has become a powerful and commonly used hallucinogen. Many people of northeastern Siberia are famous for consuming these fungi to alter consciousness (Georgi, 1799; Diachkov, 1893; Elistratov, 1978; Yokhelson, 1997; Krasheninnikov, 1949; Maidel, 1894). The discovery of Pegtymel petroglyphs in Chukotka in 1965 shed light on the long-standing habit of consuming fly agaric mushrooms in northern Eurasia. Several populations consumed dried, boiled and raw fly agaric mushrooms (Georgi, 1799; Diachkov, 1893) or mixed them with other foods (Diachkov, 1893; Lindenau, 1983). Again, we can only speculate that the consumption of fungi, together with other shamanic practices, such as ecstatic dancing or the use of a drum, was a likely method of altering the conscious state of a patient and thus reducing pain to the extent necessary to carry out surgery. This would suggest that the practice of trepanation for therapeutic purposes was closely bound with ritualism.

    So, they do use the term "likely" in the full text. That is not embelishment by the pop journalists, contrary to my prior assumption based on the abstract. I'm still not sure how reasonable the claim is. Were I for some horrible reason getting a trepanation, I think I would prefer marijuana to sobriety. Mushrooms seem like they would probably make the experience worse; trepanation sounds like a horrible set and setting.

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