Limits RegistryPUBLIC RECORD
Limits RegistryThe skeleton of a young adult buried in Liang Tebo cave in East Kalimantan, Borneo, about 31,000 years ago lacks the lower left leg, which was cleanly removed in childhood; bone remodeling shows the person survived another six to nine years. Published in Nature in September 2022, it is the oldest known evidence of surgical amputation, by more than 20,000 years.
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The skeleton of a young adult buried in Liang Tebo cave in East Kalimantan, Borneo, about 31,000 years ago lacks the lower left leg, which was cleanly removed in childhood; bone remodeling shows the person survived another six to nine years. Published in Nature in September 2022, it is the oldest known evidence of surgical amputation, by more than 20,000 years.
The age of the oldest known human remains showing a limb deliberately and successfully amputated, with healing indicating survival.
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Permanent ID limitsregistry.com/limits/LR-OLDEST-SURGICAL-AMPUTATION
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Limits Registry. LR-OLDEST-SURGICAL-AMPUTATION. Oldest known surgical amputation. 2026.