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June 21st, 2004, 09:44 AM
Archaeologists combing through a dig at historic Jamestown said they have unearthed a human skull fragment that shows markings that could bear evidence of the earliest known attempts at surgery in Colonial North America.
Two marks from a saw run along the curved top edge of the 4-by-6 inch fragment, which appears to be from bone at the back and base of the skull. Three small circular markings also seem to suggest attempts were made to drill through the bone.
"It's definitely been sawn and three times someone tried to drill a hole, perhaps in an attempt to treat an injury by relieving the pressure," Bill Kelso, head of the Jamestown Rediscovery archaeological project, told the Daily Press of Newport News.
"But right now it's all preliminary speculation."
More:
http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/247-06182004-318441.html
Two marks from a saw run along the curved top edge of the 4-by-6 inch fragment, which appears to be from bone at the back and base of the skull. Three small circular markings also seem to suggest attempts were made to drill through the bone.
"It's definitely been sawn and three times someone tried to drill a hole, perhaps in an attempt to treat an injury by relieving the pressure," Bill Kelso, head of the Jamestown Rediscovery archaeological project, told the Daily Press of Newport News.
"But right now it's all preliminary speculation."
More:
http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/247-06182004-318441.html