The First Global Trepanation Dataset: Cultural, Temporal, and Methodological Evidence of Cranial Surgery

This dataset accompanies the paper “Opening Minds: A Systematic Review of the Case for Voluntary Trephination in National Health Services”. It represents the most comprehensive known collection of global trepanation data to date, compiled from archaeological, medical, and anthropological sources spanningprehistoric, classical, medieval, and modern contexts.

The aim of the dataset is to provide a rich comparative resource for researchers investigating the historical, cultural, geographical, and procedural aspects of cranial trepanation worldwide, with a focus on cases of the procedure being self-inflicted.