An elongated conical skull with a suspected metallic implant on one side may provide some of the earliest evidence of ancient Peruvian surgical implants.
The fact that the skull, which was donated to the Museum of Osteology in Oklahoma City, USA, has the shape of a cone is not unusual. In historical records, Peruvians in ancient times were known to deliberately tie the heads of their children with ropes during their growth period, in order to achieve a distinctive shape.
But surprisingly, as quoted from Live Science, in this skull found, there are metal implants. This finding is very unusual. If it turns out to be genuine, the skull has the potential to be a unique find from the ancient Andean world.
In addition to these implants, the skull also had holes under the metal that were probably created through trepanation. Trepanation is when a hole is inserted into a person's skull to treat an injury or medical condition, and it was a common practice in the ancient world.
The Museum of Osteology, which has posted several images of the skull on its Facebook page, said its experts had so far been unable to verify the authenticity of the metal implants. A museum representative said no carbon dating was found and an archaeologist had not investigated further.
Are the implants real?
Several scholars who are not affiliated with the museum have expressed their views on the authenticity of the implants. Overall, their opinions are mixed. Some were skeptical and thought the implants were fake, while others suggested they could be real.
What is clear, scientists say that several scientific tests need to be carried out before making a final determination as to whether the implant is real or fake.
"I quite doubt that this is anything authentic," said John Verano, a professor of anthropology at the University of Tulane in Louisiana, US. He refers to metal implants that may be modern forgeries even if the skull is real.
"I think this is something that was made to make the skull a more valuable collectible," Verano said. According to him, these metal implants could have been installed decades ago, before museums or donors had them.
Verano has examined several Andean skulls suspected of having metallic implants and published a paper on the topic in 2010 in the International Journal of Osteoarchaeology.
In the paper, Verano describes a skull that was thought to contain metal implants, but turned out to be a fake. Or, the metal was not a surgical implant at all, but was used as a grave offering.
Other scientists say it's possible the metal implants are genuine. However, it is too early to say for sure, until further testing is carried out.
"I've never seen anything like this before. Based on the pictures, it looks like this piece of metal was forged to thin," said Danielle Kurin, a professor of anthropology at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
"Based on the fracture pattern, this individual, who looks like an adult male, suffered a major blunt force trauma to the right side of the head. The fact that the fracture lines were spreading and concentric showed signs of healing. This individual persisted for at least several weeks to months. ," added Kurin.
Given that metallurgical technology in the Andean region varied at the time, testing the metal in the skull could help shed light on where the material was made, Kurin said.
"It will also be helpful to take a skull X-ray to determine if metal scraps are covering the trepanation hole and/or an open skull fracture."
There have been cases from past finds where, after a trepanation, a piece of a person's bone was placed in the cut hole, Kurin said.
Additionally, in a 2013 American Journal of Physical Anthropology article, Kurin reports a case in which a person who lived in Peru about 800 years ago wore a tight-fitting skull cap that had a metal cap sewn on it. They wore helmet-like hats to provide protection for the areas carved out by trepanation.
Kent Johnson, a professor of anthropology at SUNY Cortland, also said the metal implants may be genuine. But again, further testing is needed. Regardless of whether the implant was genuine or not, the person who put it in did survive serious injuries.
"It seems quite reasonable to describe this individual as a survivor. There was extensive trauma to the right side of the skull affecting the right frontal, temporal and parietal bones," Johnson said suggesting that the person appeared to have survived for some time after this injury.
"There is evidence of healing where the fractured edge of the bone has had sufficient time to grow back."