3D Imaging of Ancient Child's Skull Reveals Violent Trauma that Caused Brain Damage

Scientists have uncovered the remains of a child that reveal a violent injury. They've examined a Paleolithic child's skull with three-dimensional imaging and have found that a violent head trauma probably led to brain damage. 

The child lived approximately 100,000 years ago at Qafzeh in lower Galilee, Israel. Originally, researchers believed that the child had a skull lesion that resulted from a trauma that healed. The child died at about 12 to 13 years of age, but the circumstances surrounding the child's death has remained a mystery.

That's why scientists decided to take a closer look. They re-appraised the child's impact wound using 3D imaging, which allowed them to better explore inner bone lesions, evaluate their effect on soft tissues, and estimate brain size to reconstruct the events surrounding the skull trauma.

So what did they find? The 3D reconstruction revealed that the child's skull fracture was compound. There was a broken piece depressed in the skull, surrounded by linear fractures. This fracture type generally results from a blunt force trauma, often a result of interpersonal violence, though it can also occur accidentally. This particular depressed fracture was likely caused by a moderate traumatic brain injury, possibly resulting in personality changes, trouble controlling movements and difficulty in social communication.

"Digital imaging and 3D reconstruction evidenced the oldest traumatic brain injury in a Paleolithic child," said Helen Conquegniot, one of the researchers, in a news release. "Post-traumatic neuropsychological disorders could have impaired social life of this individual who was buried, with a teenager, with a special ritual raising the question of compassion in Prehistory."

In fact, this child probably represents the oldest documented human case of severe skull trauma available for southwestern Asia. In addition, it appears that the child received special social attention after death; the body positioning seems intentional and there were two deer antlers found lying on the upper part of the child's chest.

The findings are published in the journal PLOS One.