The study of cranial trauma in ancient populations: from trepanation to therapy in four cases for Northern Italy

The anthropological study of some northern Italian burial sites has shown interesting cases of cranial trauma, possible trepanation and/or ritual activity.The authors report four cases in which differential diagnosis and interpretation were particularly difficult.Bony material from the first and second cases belong to the Fiavè site (province of Trento), attributed to a well-known pile-dwelling culture, active until the Roman period. Carbon dating attributes this and other skulls to III B.C.-I A.D, i.e. a “celtic period” . The third case belongs to the necropoli of Bozzolo (province of Mantova), an Etruscan site of the fifth century B.C. This site was a very important area for ancient trades and cultural exchange of north Italian territories. The last case comes from a Lombard culture of the 7th century A.D. represented by the Montichiari necropolis (Brescia, grave number 311). The Montichiari Monte San Zeno necropolis provides evidence of the first Lombard settlement in Italy.