Paleopathologists examined the skeleton of an adult excavated in a medieval rural necropolis in Cheshire. The scientists determined that the remains belonged to a man who apparently had his left hand amputated during life. He successfully underwent the surgery and apparently continued to use both hands in everyday life after his recovery, according to a paper published in the International Journal of Paleopathology.
Amputation is the oldest documented surgical procedure, the earliest example dating back to the Upper Paleolithic. In 2022, paleoanthropologists described the remains of a young man, aged 19–20, found in Kalimantan. Approximately 30,000 years ago, as a teenager, this individual had part of his left leg amputated, and the operation was performed remarkably well: he did not die from blood loss or infection.
In later eras, limbs were also frequently amputated in various ancient societies, not only due to illness or injury, but also as part of ritual practices or as punishment for crimes. Examples of the latter, in particular, have been found in China, where in ancient times limbs could be amputated for misdeeds.
This time, scientists described an example of a successful limb amputation performed in medieval Europe. Satu Valoriani, along with colleagues from Liverpool John Moores University, examined numerous remains excavated by archaeologists in Cheshire. They discovered more than 800 burials in the village of Polton, a suburb of Chester, which likely date back to the early 13th to late 16th centuries AD.
Scientists focused their attention on the skeleton of an adult, apparently buried wrapped in a shroud. The remains belonged to a middle-aged man who lived approximately 33–42 years. The researchers noted that the man's left hand was missing. However, archaeologists found no evidence that these bones had disappeared from the burial due to later damage.
Paleopathologists analyzed the remains and concluded that the missing hand is unlikely to be explained by acheiria—a developmental anomaly in which a child partially or completely lacks one or both hands. This is supported, in particular, by marks on the forearm bones at the attachment sites of muscles and tendons. It is most likely that the man had part of his limb amputated, and this was done long before his death. For example, the ends of the radius and ulna show well-healed surfaces, with no visible marks from the instruments used during the surgery.
Despite his disability, the man, who likely lived in a rural area, continued to engage in some physical activity after recovering from surgery. For example, the bones of his left arm showed no signs of osteopenia—a condition in which bone density decreases, which would occur if a person were not using a limb. According to the researchers, this is a rare example of a medieval Briton surviving amputation—an operation that, before the widespread adoption of antiseptic surgical techniques, resulted in death in more than half of cases.
Since ancient times, people have performed other surgical procedures, including trepanation of skulls. You can read more about how and why they did this in our article "With a Hole in the Left Side."
