Editing Trepanning (section)

=== Prehistoric evidence ===
Trepanation dates back to 7,000–10,000 years ago,<ref name=":4" /> is perhaps the oldest surgical procedure for which there is [[archaeological]] evidence,<ref>{{Cite book |author=Capasso, Luigi |year=2002 |title=Principi di storia della patologia umana: corso di storia della medicina per gli studenti della Facoltà di medicina e chirurgia e della Facoltà di scienze infermieristiche |location=Rome |publisher=SEU |isbn=978-88-87753-65-3 |oclc=50485765 |language=it}}</ref> and in some areas may have been quite widespread. The main pieces of archaeological evidence are in the forms of cave paintings and human remains. At one burial site in [[France]] dated to 6500&nbsp;BCE, 40 out of 120 [[prehistoric France|prehistoric]] skulls found had trepanation holes.<ref name="restak2000">{{cite book |author=Restak, Richard|chapter=Fixing the Brain |title=Mysteries of the Mind |publisher=National Geographic Society |location=Washington, D.C. |year=2000 |isbn=978-0-7922-7941-9 |oclc=43662032}}</ref> At the time only around 40% of people survived the procedure.<ref name=":4" />

More than 1,500 trephined skulls from the Neolithic period (representing 5–10% of all cranial remains from that era) have been uncovered throughout the world{{spnd}}from Europe, [[Siberia]], China and [[the Americas]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Faria|first=Miguel A.|date=2015-05-07|title=Neolithic trepanation decoded – A unifying hypothesis: Has the mystery as to why primitive surgeons performed cranial surgery been solved? |journal=Surgical Neurology International|volume=6|page=72|doi=10.4103/2152-7806.156634 |pmc=4427816|pmid=25984386 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Most of the trephined crania belong to adult males, but women and children are also represented.

There also exists evidence of trepanation being performed on a cow in France around 3400–3000&nbsp;BCE.<ref>{{Cite journal | doi=10.1038/s41598-018-23914-1| pmid=29674628| pmc=5908843| title=Earliest Animal Cranial Surgery: From Cow to Man in the Neolithic| journal=Scientific Reports| volume=8| issue=1| page=5536| year=2018| last1=Ramirez Rozzi| first1=Fernando| last2=Froment| first2=Alain| bibcode=2018NatSR...8.5536R}}</ref> If performed while alive, the cow did not survive the procedure. It is unclear if this was performed as a [[Veterinary surgery|veterinary procedure]], [[Animal testing|medical experimentation]] or for other unknown reasons. However, it could be the earliest archaeological example of veterinary surgery or animal medical experimentation.