Scientists have discovered on the island of Borneo the remains of a man with signs of surgical amputation of the left leg. Finding human remains with missing body parts is not uncommon, Science Alert reports, but in this case, we are talking about intentional amputation..

Skeleton discovered in limestone cave back in 2020. Upon closer examination, scientists found that the young man had the lower part of his left leg removed, probably as a child, 31,000 years ago..

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The amputation was skillfully done enough for the man to live another six to nine years before dying and being buried in a grave with tombstones, the researchers said..

“It was a huge surprise that this ancient forager survived a very serious and life-threatening childhood operation, that the wound healed into a stump, and that he then lived for many years in a mountainous area with altered mobility, suggesting a high degree of community and care”.

Previously, the oldest evidence of surgical amputation was a 7,000-year-old skeleton of an elderly man, which was discovered in France.. His left forearm was removed just above the elbow..

Even today, when doctors have an arsenal of tools to prevent infection, stop bleeding and painkillers, such operations require considerable skill and anatomical accuracy..

Scientists note that their discovery overturns the notion that complex surgical operations were inaccessible to gathering societies.. According to them, the surgeon or team of doctors needed to have detailed knowledge of human anatomy, hygiene and the circulatory system in order to be able to navigate the veins, blood vessels and nerves, amputate the leg and prevent death due to blood loss and infection..

Researchers also believe ancient physicians understood the importance of limb removal for human survival..

Previously, scientists assumed that the development of medicine coincided with the advent of agriculture or followed it.. The transition from gathering to farming over the past 10,000 years has caused a wave of health problems that have stimulated the development of medical skills..

In addition, before that it was believed that in those days only amputation of fingers or toes was carried out and only for ritual purposes..