But the cow skull, dating to at least 3,000 BC and found at the neolithic site of Champ-Durand in France, is the earliest example of such surgery on an animal. There was also no sign that it was the result of an infectious disease or a tumour. But careful examination showed the hole had the same sort of scrape marks as are seen in human skulls which have been trepanned. However Ramirez Rozzi said the idea of a neolithic vet is the less likely of the two options: the cow was one of many and the animals were eaten for food. “I don’t see why they would save the one cow in the middle of hundreds of cows,” he said.

Source: The Guardian April 19, 2018 12:56 UTC