Ancient Skull Reveals Egyptian Cancer Treatments from 4,000 Years Ago
Researchers from the University of Tubingen in Germany have discovered evidence of cutmarks on a skull from ancient Egypt, indicating possible attempts to surgically treat a cancerous tumor over 4,000 years ago. The skull, part of the University of Cambridge’s Duckworth Collection, featured a large primary lesion and 30 smaller metastatic lesions. The cutmarks, likely made with a sharp object, suggest that ancient Egyptians may have tried to operate on the tumor.
Professor Edgard Camaros, a palaeopathologist at the University of Santiago de Compostela in Spain, posits that these cutmarks might alternatively be from a medical autopsy performed to understand the disease posthumously. The research challenges the perception of cancer as primarily a modern, man-made illness influenced by environmental factors, highlighting that ancient civilizations also faced this disease. The findings suggest that cancer was within the realm of medical knowledge for ancient Egyptians, though further studies are needed to fully understand how they managed the illness.
