h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

There are also those who believe that the additional oxygen to the brain causes heightened intelligence and can be done to increase their IQ.
~S

The trepanning done thousands of years ago must have been incredibly painful, with no anaesthetic available!

Also, from a book "The Subtle Knife" by Philip Pullman (and I don't know how true this is in reality), shamans used trepanning to let the gods into their heads. Was this done in real life?

How do you know they had no anaesthetics?

How do you know they did?

~~A~~

Forget the anaesthesia, what I want to know is, if I cut a hole in my head, will the gods *really* come in?

I wouldn't try it

~~A~~

And, obviously, you're going to be doing more drilling than cutting. There's a fair amount of solid bone to handle. Re. the early point about shaman's use of the technic to 'allow the gods in' we can only guess. Prehistory is an awful pain to pin facts to.

And I'm not any kind of historian...

~~A~~

Like the article. For more info, there was an article in New Scientist about trepanning a couple of weeks ago (16th or possibly 9th Sept).
The Incas were the experts, and their main motivation was medical. Archaeoloists have found that something like 50% of all adult male Inca skeletons had sustained head wounds, due probably to the clubs and sling-shots they employed in their frequent raids on each other's villages. BAttlefield brain surgery arose through expediency.
Researchers have traced the development of techniques through Inca history, from crude rectangular holes, through scraping and paring, to neat circles of drilled holes from which the central section would be removed.
They probably did have anaesthetics and certainly antiseptic balms to aid healing.
It's also interesting that in C14th Peru, the survival rate following these operations was about 80%, compared to 25% in C19th Europe.

As far as oxygen-highs or whatever, one skull was found with 7 neat, partially healed holes. The researchers believe this must have been because the individual had developed a liking for the operation and had deliberately requested it.(!)

Liking? Wow!

~~A~~

Hey kids! Why not try it yourself by sellotaping a pastry cutter to your head and doing a headstand for as long as you can!

I wouldn't recommend the pastry-cutter. Some a little sharper. A DeWalt drill bit, perhaps. One of those wood working tools you use to make little holes. A bradawl? Can't remember.

A corkscrew perhaps.

~~A~~

Really it needs to be something that you can smack through the skull with a single strike or push. A drill is bad enough, but the combination of pressing and screwing means it's going to melt through the bone in no time. Something like a think pin or needle would be fine providing you could deliver a hefty blow to the end with a hammer or perhaps by smacking your head against a wall. I don't know. I think it's best to stay clear of the self-administered version and stick to finding a professional willing to complete the operation with a little more time, effort and suitable medicinal preparations.

So now we're trying to find the best place to get a hole drilled into your head. Fun.

~~A~~