A 31,000-year-old skeleton – of a young adult – from Borneo, Indonesia has undergone the world’s first successful operation. The findings, published in the journal Nature, said the skeleton is 31,000 years old, a staggering 24,000 years older than the previous oldest known evidence of amputation surgery. The skeleton was found in caves in East Kalimantan, Borneo, which date back to 40,000 years ago and were first discovered in 2018.
Archaeologists from Griffith University, the University of Western Australia and Indonesian institutions of archeology and conservation, with the help of local residents, searched the remote caves in the dense rainforest. In one of the caves – the Liang Tebo cave – scientists uncovered a complete human burial. Several dating techniques confirmed that the burial occurred 31,000 years ago, which could make the burial the oldest known grave in Southeast Asia.
The oldest successful operation in the world was found during a detailed analysis of the bones of the leg remains. Skeletal analyzes confirmed that the left lower limb had been surgically amputated and the healed bone confirmed the injury. The researchers said that it can be said that the surgeons were able to prevent any form of infection after the operation, which allowed the person to live to adulthood. The new finding is a valuable addition to the growing body of evidence that early modern human groups had medical knowledge and skills.
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