The remains of two brothers were found in a Bronze Age tomb in the city of Tel Megiddo, Israel.
Archaeologists were surprised to find the evidence of brain surgery in the skeleton of a person discovered buried beneath the floor of a Bronze-era building. According to CNN, it was the burial site of two brothers who lived during the 15th century. The findings mark the earliest example of trephination, a surgical procedure of creating a hole in the skull without affecting underlying tissue, the outlet further said. The brothers lived between 1550 BC and 1450 BC and their remains were found during an excavation of a tomb in the ancient city of Tel Megiddo.
The evidence of the surgery was found on the skull of the elder brother, believed to be between 20 and 40 years old. The archeologists said that his scalp was cut and then a sharp, instrument was used to remove a square piece of skull from his frontal bone.
The study detailing the discovery has been published in the journal PLOS ONE.
It lead author Rachel Kalisher is quoted by CNN as saying in a statement, "We have evidence that trephination has been this universal, widespread type of surgery for thousands of years."
Speaking to ABC News, Ms Kalisher said she initially thought the skull fragment had been taken as a DNA sample by colleagues.
"Usually when you study human remains, you're studying the accumulated change that they experienced throughout their lives, but this was one moment captured," she added.
The outlet further said there are only a few dozen examples of trephination in the archeological records. But this is the earliest evidence of this particular style by at least several centuries.