Monday, January 11, 2016

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."