POST-MORTEM TREPANATIONS IN A BURIALS IN LATE BRONZE AGE AND IRON AGE FROM ARMENIAN PLATEAU

According to the classification of trepanations used by modern palaeopathologists, one group includes ritual operations. In prehistoric Europe trepanations post-mortem was accomplished to create amulets from the bones of human skulls, while in Central Asia post-mortem operations were connected within funerary traditions, including embalming and mummification. Craniological materials in this study are dated to the end of the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age, and originated from the Sevan Lake (Armenia). From 4 series, numbering 88 skulls, 9 trepanned skulls were recognized in which this procedure was performed on crania before the soft tissue had disappeared. Lesions, classified according to location and size, revealed five basic types.