Archaeologists from Bulgaria are claiming to have found evidence that ancient men performed brain surgery.
Georgi Nehrizov, who led the team of researches say diggings near the city of Svilengrad in Bulgaria revealed a skull from the Thracian period or some 4,000 years ago, bearing a hole that had been carved out with surgical precision.
He said, "The skull dates back to 2500-1800 BC and the hole had clearly been made for medical reasons. It is the first such discovery from Thracian times."
Thracians were a nation comprised of different tribes that developed from a mix of invading Indo-European and indigenous settlers in the Balkans over the centuries, beginning from the Early Bronze Age.
The group was mentioned in Homer's the "Iliad" as allies of the Trojans, hailing from Thrace.
That's the whole thing. Doesn't seem too terribly important since trephination has been known for a long time. I don't think this is any earlier than any oher examples. . . .