Experts from a US museum believe it could be one of the oldest examples of advanced surgery. The Museum of Osteology in Oklahoma said the skull is reported to have been that of a man who was injured in battle before undergoing surgery to implant a piece of metal in his head to repair a fracture.
That’s metal 🤘
We, the “modern humans”, would do so many mental gymnastics but to accept the apparent fact that “ancient humans” were in no way less smarter than us.
In reality intelligence was about the same, just less existing knowledge to stand on.
It’s not individual intelligence, it’s access to knowledge.
Every big leap forward in human society has been about how far/fast ideas can be exchanged.
When that happens, suddenly all types of other advancements happen and then slow down over time till the next leap in communication.
The biggest thing humans have going for us, is it only takes one human to figure something out these days.
I would argue that intelligence is different than exploration. We now have amassed so much recordable knowledge across so many disciplines. In the past those that remembered this knowledge correctly or where to find it were the intelligent ones. Now it’s how we use it. It’s a drastic pivot point in human history and the computer is the center piece.
Is there more info?
My first thought is why did they discount the idea from movies of someone being executed painfully by having molten metal poured on their head?
They discounted the idea because
Surprising as it may seem, the patient survived the procedure, as evidenced by the fact that bone surrounding it fused together.
This rarely happens when they pour molten metal on the head, according to medical experts.
(source: Snopes)
I am not a medical expert but I concur that having molten metal poured over your head and having signs of healing would have very little correlation
Thanks for the link, it also answered my question about the shape of the skull.
Yes, this is a real human skull that is thousands of years old. Elongation was achieved through head binding beginning at a very young age. It was typically practiced to convey social status by various cultures.
I’m no expert, but my first thought is, molten metal is so hot it would probably do more damage than it would fix. Also, the shape is quite neat/precise, rarely the case when pouring a liquid on a curved surface. There doesn’t seem to be any pooling in the cracks and depressions. The edges are very clean.
Furthermore, and to me, most convincingly, it looks like it’s been hammered. There are no bubbles, thickness looks regular, the surface looks like it has been worked on, there are even what seem to be folds, to adapt the shape to the wound.
The bones have fused back together, which shows that there was healing, which takes time. So that indicates that the person survived the wound (and the procedure).
So that’s what I would guess based on those photos.
I’m very impressed it worked. Look at the wound. Someone seems to have had their skull crushed in by a big blunt object, rock or hammer or whatever. I wouldn’t really expect anyone to survive that, even with modern medical abilities.
Edit : I think I sort of misread your question. But either way, the info above still stands.
I would add, re: the execution idea. In most early civilizations, metal is a rare resource. Why waste it one someone you want to kill?
Nothing wrong with asking critical questions and wondering how one can be sure of something! That’s the first step of figuring out how stuff works - it’s how every one of those experts started out. And especially so as the original post did not cite any sources. No need for the hostility! :)
My bet is they are Australian. We call dickheads “dickhead” for all sorts of reasons not just because they’re a dickhead.
No hostility. You literally are just some dickhead on the internet, it’s how anonymous sites line this work… And come on, your basis for this was based on movies? How the fuck is anyone meant to actually take your line of questioning seriously to begin with? And the article included info to answer your question anyway. Sure, be critical, but actually be critical…
Imagine living through getting your head smashed in as well as having it pieced back together and fixed with a chunk of crudely shaped metal. I hope they had some good drugs.
That’s metal