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A trepanation operation. Copper engraving, 1671.
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Drilling a Hole in the Head
Trepanation, the practice of drilling a hole into the head to alleviate pain, is one of the oldest recorded headache remedies. Skulls 9,000 years old have been found with holes drilled into them and the practice continued into the seventeenth century. Many ancient civilizations believed that headaches were due to evil spirits or malevolent beings inside the head. The hole allowed these to be released.
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