Scientists monitor a surgical amputation that occurred 31,000 years ago
Archaeologists have found the world's oldest evidence of a successful surgical amputation in a tomb in Borneo, which predates the earliest known example of a similar procedure by some 24,000 years.
Archaeologists from Australian universities and Indonesian institutions have unearthed the skeleton of a Borneo youth whose lower left leg was amputated as a child 31,000 years ago.
The scientists said in a statement yesterday, Thursday, that "multiple dating techniques confirmed that the burial took place 31,000 years ago, making it the oldest known tomb in Southeast Asia."
The scientists explained that: “Analysis of the skeleton confirmed that the left lower limb had been surgically amputated.
They added that the way bone tissue changed over time (known as bone remodeling) matched the clinical cases of successful uninfected amputations.
According to the archaeologists, the healed bone confirmed that the procedure was not fatal to the patient, and explained that "surgeons or surgeons likely understood the need to deal with it and treat it."
The scientists said the discovery indicates that human medical knowledge was "much more advanced in the distant past of our species than previously thought".
The remains were found in Liang Tipu Cave in eastern Borneo, which at that time was still connected to Eurasia.
The discovery was published in the journal Nature.
"These early surgeons, for example, were known to hold a piece of skin that folds and protects the wound," said Dr. Maloney, one of the co-authors of the discovery.
As the archeology crew slowly and carefully explored the bones, they realized that the skeleton had lost its left foot and part of its lower leg.
The ends of the bones in the lower left leg appeared to be severed by something, but they healed well, and these healed fragments indicate that the leg was cut off six to eight years before the death of the individual, which means that he was a child or young teenager when this happened.
Dr. Maloney said the bones looked different than we would expect if the foot and leg had been bitten or crushed under a rock.
"As to what the 'surgeon' - or surgeons - used to amputate the limb is still unknown, but the 'medical scalpel here' was most likely a sharp, hand-held piece of rock, perhaps something like a sharp stone."
They will return early next year to dig more of the cave floor, said Maxime Aubert, an archaeologist and geochemist at Griffith University who was involved in the study.
"We'll go deeper than that, it's going to be very exciting and we'll find new things."
Follow our latest local and sports news and the latest political and economic developments via Google news