Did neolithic man practise surgery on cows?

Archaeologists in Champ-Durand, France, have found a cow skull with a small round hole cut into it

A stone age cow skull boasting a hole the size of a biscuit has been hailed as a first by archeologists, who say the gouge is the earliest evidence of either a veterinary attempt or animal experimentation.

Human skulls from around the world, some dating as far back as almost 10,000 years ago, have been found with very similar holes - evidence, say experts, of a cranial surgery called trepanation in which humans scraped away at the skull, or drilled it, to form an aperture.