A team of archaeologists from the University of Valladolid discovered the evidence of the first successful ear surgery Excavations in the 'El Pendon' dolmen in Reinoso, Northern Spain.
Manuel Rojo Guerra led the investigation of the megalithic monument from the 4th millennium BC, in which the researchers discovered an ossuary holding the bones of over a hundred people suffering from various diseases and injuries. According to carbon 14 dating, the dolmen was utilised for burial for roughly 800 years between 3,800 and 3,000 BC.
A woman's skull was discovered with two bilateral perforations on each mastoid bones, indicating that she had underwent surgery to remove middle ear infections.
The woman recovered the procedure, according to surface histological examinations, making it the earliest reported successful otological surgery in history, performed roughly 5,300 years ago. The existence of scars included the cut marks at the anterior corner of the trepanation produced in the left ear also supports the idea of surgical intervention.
This type of technique must have been conducted out through specialists or individuals with specific anatomical understanding and therapeutic experience.
According to the study, this surgical treatment had to be performed using a lithic instrument due to the pre-metallurgical chronology of the site. Several obsidian tools, including basic and retouched blades of various sizes, geometric microliths, and arrowheads of various forms, were deposited at the site as grave goods or ceremonial offerings.
