Framed Cast MOCHE TREPANATION KNIFE Peru500AD

from the 
Mountains of Peru in South America
 

Material: 
Knife:  Bronze Filled Polymer

Frame:  SHADOWBOX 
             Wooden  Frame, 
              double matted,
              under glass with 
              engraved brass ID plate
.

REPRODUCTION
This reproduction was molded directly  from the original Moche knife using a unique, patent pending technology which exactly duplicates the object without risking direct contact.  This guarantees the safety and integrity of the original antiquity while permitting an exact duplicate to be produced.   The technique perfectly  reproduces the original artifact down to the finest tool marks made by the creator 1500 years ago.  Unlike other replication techniques, there was no recarving or reworking of the piece.  It is reproduced exactly as found.

The original knife is currently in a private collection and was copied by Echoes In Time under exclusive agreement with the owners.   The reproduction is individually handmade by artisans in USA with particular attention to authenticity and craftsmanship.  A truly unique piece -  available nowhere else!
 
 

HISTORY
Although crude by our standards, this elegant copper "knife" was a brain surgeon's "scalpel" for Moche culture shamans. "Trepanning" means "to cut into a skull" and many skulls have been found in Moche burials with 1-2" square holes in the top of the skull. Originally it was believed that the surgery's purpose was a ritual to release evil spirits  Today experts feel that the operation was probably used to relieve potentially fatal pressure from a swelling brain (common from severe head wounds or disease) thus saving the patient from a painful death. We now know that patients often lived a long life after this surgery!  Thousands of burial skulls have been found with this incision and in a great many the bone has regrown over much of the opening, This shows both recovery and long-term healing (perhaps 10-20 years). It is very likely that this Trepanation Knife, together with the knowledge and skill of a shaman, saved many lives. 

Although referred to as a knife, this piece probably functioned more as a combination knife and saw in order to cut through bone.  Note the presence of tiny serrated teeth, a fairly advanced technology for such a primitive instrument.  The blade is also curved on one side and flat on the other.  This design permits considerable force to be applied to the tool without the danger of breakage or chipping the blade.  This made the metal instrument superior and safer to use for this purpose than stone tools which were common at the time.