Surgical amputation of a limb 31,000 years ago in Borneo

The prevailing view is that the rise of settled agricultural societies around 10,000 years ago spurred major innovations in prehistoric medical practices, including advanced surgery. The previously accepted earliest amputation was a European Neolithic farmer from Butchers-Boulancourt, France, about 7,000 years ago. Here, we report skeletal remains of a young individual from Liang Tebo cave, East Kalimantan, Indonesian Borneo, who underwent an extensive procedure during childhood (probably aged 6–9 years) and was later intentionally interred. This unexpectedly early evidence of a successful limb amputation suggests that some modern human foragers in tropical Asia had developed sophisticated medical knowledge and skills well before the Neolithic transition.

Tim Ryan Maloney, India Eila Dilkes-Hall, Melandri Vlok, Adhi Agus Oktaviana, Pindi Setiawan, Andika Arief Drajat Priyanto, Marlon Rimmasse, I. Made Geria, Muslimin A. R. Effendy, Budd Istiwan, Falentinus Triwijaya Atmoko, Shintaria Adhityatama, Ian Moffat, Renaud Joannes-Boyau, Adam Brumm, Maxime Aubert