New cases of trepanations from the 5th to 3rd millennia BC in Southern Russia in the context of previous research: Possible evidence for a ritually motivated tradition of cranial surgery?

The region of Southern Russia seems to be a center for special trepanations performed by skilled surgeons, the specific position of the perforations implying more a ritual than therapeutic reason for trepanning. Am J Phys Anthropol 160:665-682, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.