Chinese Tomb Yields Prosthetic Leg

News January 11, 2016

(© DAI)
SHARE:
China leg prosthesis
(© DAI)

TURPAN, CHINA—Live Science reports that a 2,200-year-old prosthetic leg was discovered in a tomb located near the Silk Road in western China. Archaeologists described the leg in the journal Chinese Archaeology as “made of poplar wood; it has seven holes along the two sides with leather tapes for attaching it to the deformed leg. The lower part of the prosthetic leg is rendered into a cylindrical shape, wrapped with a scrapped ox horn and tipped with a horse hoof, which is meant to augment its adhesion and abrasion.” The man who wore the leg was between 50 and 65 years old at the time of death. Wear at the top of the device suggests that it had been used for a long time. Studies of man’s remains, published in Bridging Eurasia and Quaternary International, show that the bones of his left knee had fused together, perhaps due to inflammation in the joint caused by rheumatism or trauma. He had also been buried with ceramic cups and a jar and wooden artifacts. To read about an artificial toe from ancient Egypt, go to “Artifact.”

  • Features November/December 2015

    Where There’s Smoke…

    Learning to see the archaeology under our feet

    Read Article
    (Vincent Scarano on behalf of Connecticut College)
  • Letter From Wales November/December 2015

    Hillforts of the Iron Age

    Searching for evidence of cultural changes that swept the prehistoric British Isles

    Read Article
    (Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales)
  • Artifacts November/December 2015

    Viking Sword

    Read Article
    (Ellen C. Holthe, Museum of Cultural History, University of Oslo)
  • Digs & Discoveries November/December 2015

    The Second Americans?

    Read Article
    (ShutterStock)