Surgery May Be Far Older Than We Thought

2min Snip

00:00

Play full episode

Summary

Transcript

Episode notes

Researchers found evidence of an amputation 31 thousand years ago. One of the earliest examples of a complex medical procedure was seen in the skeleton of a neolithic farmer in france who had part of their left arm amputated about 7,000 years ago. The story begins in a cave in the rain forest in the east of indinesian borneo. It's in a pretty remote location, and getting there is a bit of a trick.

00:46 Evidence of ancient surgery

A skeleton with an amputated foot discovered in Borneo has been dated to 31,000 years ago, suggesting that complex surgery might be much older than previously thought. The person whose foot was removed survived the procedure, which the researchers behind the find say shows the ‘surgeon’ must have had detailed knowledge of anatomy, and likely had access to antiseptic compounds.

Research article: Maloney et al.

News and Views: A surgical dawn 31,000 years ago in Borneo

10:12 Research Highlights

Mummified reptiles hint at severe drought 250 million years ago, and mapping avalanche risk in remote locations.

Research Highlight: Quick-dried Lystrosaurus ‘mummy’ holds clues to mass death in the Triassic

Research Highlight: Avalanches in remote peaks are revealed with old satellites’ aid

13:09 Briefing Chat

We discuss some highlights from the Nature Briefing. This time, how extreme heat has likely contributed to Pakistan’s devastating floods, and what the James Webb Space Telescope has revealed about exoplanets so far?

Nature News: Why are Pakistan’s floods so extreme this year?

Nature News: Webb telescope wows with first image of an exoplanet

Nature News: Webb telescope spots CO2 on exoplanet for first time: what it means for finding alien life

Subscribe to Nature Briefing, an unmissable daily round-up of science news, opinion and analysis free in your inbox every weekday.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.