Thirteen ancient skulls, determined to be about 3,000 years old, were discovered recently in Yanghai, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in Northwest China, each one with one to seven holes in it.

Lu Enguo, researcher of Xinjiang Archaeology Research Institute, said that the holes in the skulls might have been made to draw out blood possibly after injuries.

The discovery indicated that doctors of Yanghai three millennia ago already knew how to make a hole in the head. And the sizes of those holes are similar to those made by surgeons today, Lu said.

"Growth of new bone and a bone tissue healing phenomenon around these holes can be seen, which showed that such medical treatments were used some 3,000 years ago in the region,"Lu said.

(www.xinhuanet.com)