This post reminded me of something I heard back in the late 1960s. I was listening to a radio show called Radio Free Oz--I believe it was some of the same people who later formed the Firesign Theatre. A guest on the show talked about the practice of trepanning, not for physical health as some believe was prehistoric practice, but for greater spiritual awareness. For those who don't know, trepanning involves drilling a hole in the skull. This person had actually done this himself, using a hand drill to penetrate the front of forehead. He explained that his motivation was greater brain function. He believed that once the sutures in the skull completely closed that the circulation of blood and cerebral fluids were restricted. He claimed that children who suffered some kind of skull injury that prevented the complete closure were more intelligent and aware. One sign he claimed was an ability to recall more of one's childhood than average. He said most people literally cannot remember what being a child was like.
You can see how your post would remind me of this information. Many years later (after the internet developed its current ability to scan information) I did a little research and found that there was, may still be, a set of people interested in trepanning. Very strange. Anthropologists have assumed that, in the absence of evidence of a skull injury the purpose of prehistoric trepanning was "to release evil spirits", perhaps in epileptic or mentally ill patients. I don't know whether any scholars have latched onto the idea that the practice may have been intended to increase mental powers of some sort rather than to restore a patient to "normal" function.
Brain fluid
This post reminded me of something I heard back in the late 1960s. I was listening to a radio show called Radio Free Oz--I believe it was some of the same people who later formed the Firesign Theatre. A guest on the show talked about the practice of trepanning, not for physical health as some believe was prehistoric practice, but for greater spiritual awareness. For those who don't know, trepanning involves drilling a hole in the skull. This person had actually done this himself, using a hand drill to penetrate the front of forehead. He explained that his motivation was greater brain function. He believed that once the sutures in the skull completely closed that the circulation of blood and cerebral fluids were restricted. He claimed that children who suffered some kind of skull injury that prevented the complete closure were more intelligent and aware. One sign he claimed was an ability to recall more of one's childhood than average. He said most people literally cannot remember what being a child was like.
You can see how your post would remind me of this information. Many years later (after the internet developed its current ability to scan information) I did a little research and found that there was, may still be, a set of people interested in trepanning. Very strange. Anthropologists have assumed that, in the absence of evidence of a skull injury the purpose of prehistoric trepanning was "to release evil spirits", perhaps in epileptic or mentally ill patients. I don't know whether any scholars have latched onto the idea that the practice may have been intended to increase mental powers of some sort rather than to restore a patient to "normal" function.
Rita