EVALUATION OF TREPANATION IN THE NEOLITHIC PERIOD BY 19TH CENTURY SCIENTISTS: AN OBJECT LESSON OF SOCIETAL BIAS IN RESEARCH

Abstract

Society shapes a great deal of our ideas and beliefs. No matter the field of research scientists choose to pursue, preconceptions exist that prevents them from being fully objective. To illustrate this point, this article explores the nineteenth century in order to highlight the subjective nature of the scientific community, specifically the neuroscientists at the time. It is my contention that society’s view of race interfered with their objective evaluation of the practice of trepanation in Neolithic times. Trepanation is a practice where a portion of the skull in removed from a living patient. Prominent among several scientists at the time, Paul Broca’s subjective approach to explaining the motivation behind the practice highlights how we are conditioned by our environment. This observation emphasizes the need to be aware of bias whenever we approach new information.