Scientific Marvels of Toe-tankhamun – Ancient Mummy Prosthesis
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Scientists have discovered an ancient Egyptian mummy bearing an artificial toe prosthesis which could prove to be the world’s earliest functional prosthetic body part.
Researchers at The University of Manchester are scrutinizing a wood and leather artifact in the Cairo Museum to prove that it not only functioned for cosmetic purposes, but also helped its owner walk ‘like an Egyptian’.
If proven true, the toe will predate what’s currently considered to be the earliest known practical prosthesis — an artificial leg from 300BC — by several hundred years.
Jacky Finch — heading the study at Manchester’s KNH Centre for Biomedical Egyptology — is recruiting volunteers who have lost their big right toe to test an exact replica of the mummy’s prosthetic toe.
Tests will also be performed on another Egyptian big toe on display in the British Museum using a model of it at the Human Performance Laboratory at University of Salford, reports Physorg.
“The toes date from between 1000 and 600BC, so if we can prove that one or both were functional then we will have pushed back prosthetic medicine by as much as 700 years.? said Jacky.
“The Cairo toe is the most likely of the two to be functional as it is articulated and shows signs of wear. It is still attached to the foot of the mummy of a female between 50 and 60 years of age. The amputation site is also well healed.?
The British Museum artifact – named the Greville Chester Great Toe after the collector who acquired it for the museum in 1881 – is made from cartonnage, a form of papier maché made from linen, glue and plaster.
It also shows signs of wear, indicating that it may have been worn by its owner while alive and not merely attached to the foot during mummification for religious or ritualistic reasons. Unlike the Cairo specimen, the Greville Chester toe doesn’t bend, so it may have been designed more for cosmetic purposes.
“The Human Performance Laboratory will use state-of-the-art technology to test whether the replicas of the artificial toes benefit the wearer and could therefore be deemed functional.? said Jacky.
“If either one is functional it may be interesting to manufacture it with modern materials and trial it for use on people with missing toes.?
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Very informative, certainly the Egyptians were far more advanced in many things than what we tend to give credit for and as more comes to light with ancient civilizations we are learning that in many cases they were further forward in some respects than we are today!! All we are tring to do in many cases is to re-invent the wheel.
So true Colin. They’re still not completely certain how the pyramids were constructed.
Well apparently they put one big stone on top of another and carried on going upwards and inwards hahahaha
Thats so cool. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for your visit Awannabe. I’ve been to your site and was very impressed with your layout and design … very professional, and nice blog
I actually wrote a post on the pyramids a while back Colin. They believe that some of the stones were actually cast in place :
Construction of the Great Pyramids – Surprising Truth Revealed
“So true Colin. They’re still not completely certain how the pyramids were constructed.”
Hey, Deborah, you should writed as :
“So true Colin. They’re still not completely certain how Valentin constructed the pyramids.”
No. I wont tell them, they offer me a to low price for this info.
And that finger prothesis the guy wanted and received in order to be able to scratch better ..
mwuahahahhahahahahhaha
You’re right Valentin, I should have known better. What was I thinking?
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Thanks for sharing.
[...] for “the Maiden”), went on display for the first time at a museum in Salta, Argentina. The mummy was described as “perfect” by the archaeologists who found her in 1999 and said to have been [...]
thanks sharing
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