Risky skull surgery done for ritual reasons 6,000 years ago
Bone regrowth shows most survived operation to cut back-of-the-head holes
RITUAL CUT An almost 6,000-year-old human skull from southern Russia contains a large opening at the back of the head created by cutting away bone with a sharp instrument. Researchers suspect many skull surgeries in southern Russia at that time were performed for ritual, not medical, reasons.
J. Gresky