2023-11-01 23:00:13
German archaeologists found a skeleton with four metal prosthetic fingers, whose hand was still attached to his left arm. An initial analysis determined that the prosthetic was covered in leather and tied to the person’s arm with bandages.
The discovery was made in the south of Freising (Germany). The skeleton is that of a man who, when he died, was between 30 and 50 years old. His death occurred between the years 1450 and 1620, according to the German government and the LiveScience reports.
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According to Walter Irlinger, deputy general conservator of the Bavarian State Office for Monument Preservation, he stated that the prosthesis replaced “the index, middle, ring and little fingers”, and that they “were individually molded in sheet metal and are immobile ”.
Surgical procedure
Marks on the remaining bones of the man’s left hand suggest that the fingers were amputated while he was alive; However, it is uncertain how surgeons carried out the procedure; A thumb bone found cemented to the corroded metal prosthesis showed that the man’s thumb was not removed.
The prosthesis was removed from the skeleton for archaeological analysis and restoration. Scans revealed that the object is made up of simple scraps of leather and fabric attached to replica fingers, showing the exterior of the prosthetic was at least partially covered.
Remnants of gauze-like material inside the hollow fingers indicate that the device may have been padded to protect the stump of the hand from the metal. The fingers have been slightly curved and are parallel to each other to mimic the natural resting position of the human hand, according to Irlinger.
Prosthesis was removed from the skeleton for study and restoration (Image: Bayerisches Landesamt für Denkmalpflege)
Amputation techniques come from a long time ago
The discovery suggests that medicine at the time was already aware of the benefits of amputation, in addition to having found solutions to make life easier for them.
The time in which the man who owned the skeleton lived was marked by military conflicts that may have led to a large number of injuries and amputations, which may have increased the demand for prosthetics like this in the region.
Skeleton belongs to a man between 30 and 50 years old, who lived between the years 1450 and 1620 (Image: Bayerisches Landesamt für Denkmalpflege)
Other old prostheses
This prosthetic hand found in Germany is not the first of its kind to be found. Archaeologists have already found around 50 similar medical devices across Central Europe and dating from the Middle Ages (1300 to 1500) to the early Modern Era (1500 to 1800).
Unlike the rigid prosthesis recently discovered in Freising, some of these other prosthetic limbs had sophisticated moving parts, the German government reported.
One of the oldest medical devices ever found belonged to a three-thousand-year-old Egyptian mummy and was a toe made of wood.
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