Prosthetic leg discovered in ancient Chinese tomb

Remains of a man with a deformed knee to which a prosthetic leg was attached was found in a tomb in an ancient cemetery near Turpan in China. The remains are dated back 2200 years. The remains of a man and a younger woman were found in the tomb. The leg of the man was deformed, with the patella, femur and tibia fused together and fixed at a sharp angle. The man couldn’t straighten his left leg out so the prosthetic leg allowed the left leg to touch the floor when walking.

Prosthetic leg found in the ancient tomb (by Live Science)
Prosthetic leg found in the ancient tomb (by Live Science)

The prosthetic leg was made of poplar wood with seven holes along the two sides with leather tapes for attaching it to the deformed leg. The lower part of the prosthetic leg was rendered into a cylindrical shape, wrapped with a scrapped ox horn and tipped with a horse’s hoof for stability. Radiocarbon dating indicates that the tomb in Turpan dates back around 2,200 years.

(after Live Science)

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