The Earliest Evidence of An Amputation is 31,000 Years Old

The absence of a lower leg from a set of ancient remains reveals that the oldest limb removal occurred on the island of Borneo 31,000 years ago.

By Sam Walters
Sep 8, 2022 5:15 PMSep 8, 2022 5:08 PM
Amputation
(Credit: Tim Ryan Maloney et al/Nature)

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The thought of undergoing any surgical procedure prior to the invention of modern medicine is more than terrifying. It’s also murky and mysterious, since archaeologists still struggle to pinpoint when and where the first surgeries and amputations actually occurred.

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