To add a bit of depth here: some anthropologists argue trepanation was also potentially used as a sort of rite of passage or even to release evil spirits believed to be trapped inside the head. And despite the 'ick' factor, it's incredible that evidence suggests survival rates were high enough …

Everybody talks about the Oseberg ship and the women, but what if we got it all wrong? Maybe one of those women was the actual big shot and not just some servant or priestess. Gotta look beyond the old-school thinking, peeps. History's always more complicated than it sounds.