THE FAVORITE OPERATION AMONG THE ANCIENT PERUVIANS 



Figure 13. Naturally it is not possible to determine by an examination of skeletal 

 remains whether the Incas indulged in the luxury of having their tonsils and appendices 

 removed. Of all the surgical operations of which time has left us any record trephining the 

 skull was by far the most popular in ancient Peru. The owner of this skull appears to 

 have been the holder of the long-distance record for having holes cut in his skull. Not the 

 least remarkable part of this operation was that the patient survived, at least long enough 

 for the bone to show evidences of healing. (Photograph by courtesy of the National 

 Geographic Society.) 



RAW MATERIAL FOR THE ANTHROPOLOGIST 



Figure 14. Some of the bones and mummies discovered by the Yale University- 

 National Geographic Society Expedition in 191.5, as they were removed from the burial caves. 

 (Photograph by courtesy of the National Geographic Society.) 



