M0009134: Trepanned skull from New Ireland, Papua New Guinea, side view

Previous title, replaced October 2020: Trepanned skull from New Ireland.

Photograph of a skull with eight trepannation holes (not all visible) and signs of healing. The skull is from New Ireland, Papua New Guinea. It was collected by Rev. J. A. Crump, who gave it to his friend Rev. George Brown, who presented it to the the Wellcome Historical Medical Musuem in 1903. It was accessioned in 1938 (accession number R559/1938). The skull is not held by Wellcome Collection. According to the accession register the man died from a blow to the head received sometime after the final operation. The operations were performed to alleviate severe headaches. Related images: M0009134EA, M0009134EB, M0009134D

16 April 1945

1 photograph sheet film negative; 10 x 12.5 cm

Copyright is held by Wellcome Collection

Catalogue data comes from a combination of entries in the original glass plate registers, metadata created when the glass plates were digitised in the early 2000s and enhancements made by the cataloguer in 2020.

Please consult the digitised version as this item is fragile. Email library@wellcomecollection.org to request access to the physical item.