Primitive Trephining in Peru

Description

Authors: Muniz, Manuel Antonio, M.D. (1861-1897) and McGee, W.J. (William John) (1853-1912)

Publisher: Smithsonian Institution

Pub Date: 1897

Binding: Paperback

Condition: Fair to Good.  Binding tight.  No marks, tears, bends or folds.  This is a report excised from a copy of  the Sixteenth Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology 1894-1895, that was falling apart, and I’ve had it rebound in paperback.  Foxing to all text blocks.  Some cocking to spine, but spine is solid.

Notes:  Individual BAE report rebound in paperback, originally published in 1897 in the Sixteenth Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology, 1894-1895. Trephining (also known as “trepanning) is a surgical technique of drilling or scraping a hole in the skull.  “The material collected from the long-neglected tombs of Peru by Dr. Muñiz comprised weapons of war and the chase, implements in wide variety, domestic utensils, costumery of skins and stuffs, and articles of adornment, all in considerable quantity; though his tastes and training led him to devote especial attention to the somatic remains of ancient people.  His collection comprised something over a thousand crania; of those, nineteen were found to be trephined, several more than once.”  (From the Prefatory Note).  Think about this: the ancient Inca performed skull surgery (with anesthetic) to heal wounds or for religious purposes (“Okay, the gods want us to drill a hole in your head.  You okay with that?”)  And I feel bad when I’ve got a headache.  Wimp.