Earliest evidence of amputation found in Indonesia cave

Image source, Tim Maloney

A cave in Indonesia has the earliest evidence of amputations.

Evidence of leg amputation has been found in a 31,000-year-old body.

The origin of the surgery was pushed back by more than 24,000 years.

The person was taken care of by their community after the procedure.

The doctor said it was clear that surgery had been done.

When the person was a child, a forensic examination of the ancient body took place. The growth and healing of their leg bone suggests they lived for another six to nine years.

Some of the world's earliest rock art was found in the cave where the grave was excavated.

One of the researchers who excavated the grave said he was excited and terrified at the same time.

Image source, Tim Maloney

The lower half of the remains were carefully recorded. He said that they could see that the left foot was missing.

We were excited at the range of possibilities that had caused this.

The excavation team asked Dr Vlok to examine the remains. She said that it was a mixture of excitement and sadness because of the discovery.

Even if it was 31,000 years ago, this person had a lot of pain.

The archaeologists are confident that this was an operation, rather than a punishment, because the person showed signs of being cared for through their recovery.

The rest of their community probably invested in their care to allow them to live in this mountainous terrain.

The view that medicine and surgery came late in human history was challenged by Prof Charlotte Robertson.

Image source, Jose Garcia/Griffith University

She said caring is an innate part of being human. "We have to pay attention to our ancestors."

She pointed out that amputations require a lot of technical skill and a lot of knowledge.

Amputation is a very safe operation in the west. There is anaesthesia, sterile procedures and control of bleeding.

Someone is performing an amputation on a person over three thousand years ago.

The stone surgical tools that could have been used at that time are being investigated by Dr. Maloney and his team.

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