Evidence of Amputation as Medical Treatment in Ancient Egypt T. L. DUPRAS, a * L. J. WILLIAMS, b M. DE MEYER, c C. PEETERS, c D. DEPRAETERE, c B. VANTHUYNE c AND H. WILLEMS c a Department of Anthropology, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL 32816, USA b Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Muhlenberg College, Allentown, PA 18104, USA c Subfaculteit Taal- en Regiostudies, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Blijde Inkomststraat 21, 3000 Leuven, Belgium ABSTRACT The use of surgical techniques in ancient Egyptian medicine has only been suggested indirectly through ancient medical texts and iconography, and there is no evidence of amputation as a means of therapeutic medical treatment. This paper presents four cases of amputation from the archaeological site of Dayr al-Barsha ¯ , Egypt. Two of the cases (dated to the First Intermediate and Middle Kingdom periods, respectively) are from individuals that display bilateral amputations of the feet, one through the metatarso-phalangeal joints, the other a transmetatarsal amputation. The exact reason for the amputation, perhaps from trauma or disease, is unknown. The particular healing patterns of the distal ends of the amputations suggest these individuals used foot binding or prosthetic devices. Another case represents a healed amputation of the left ulna near the elbow, dated to the Old Kingdom. The final case represents a perimortem amputation of the distal end of the right humerus. The exact date of this individual is unknown, but most likely pertains to the Old Kingdom or First Intermediate period. This individual seems to have suffered a traumatic incident shortly before death, sustaining many fractures, including a butterfly fracture on the right humerus. Several cut marks were identified on top of the butterfly fracture, indicating amputation of the arm at this point. All four cases support the hypothesis that the ancient Egyptians did use amputation as a therapeutic medical treatment for particular diseases or trauma. Copyright ß 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Key words: Egypt; Dayr al-Barsha ¯ ; amputation; trauma; diabetes; leprosy; prosthesis; medicine & surgery Introduction While the ancient Egyptians have long been known for their medical skills (Sullivan, 1995), the evidence for surgical techniques as treatment for disease or trauma is ambiguous (Nunn, 1996; Sullivan, 1998). Indirect evidence of surgical techniques comes from written records, including the Edwin Smith and Ebers papyri, in which surgery is recommended as treatment for disease or trauma (Sullivan, 1998). Metal artefacts that are believed to be medical surgical tools have been documented in the archaeological record (Taylor, 1994), yet there is no direct evidence that they were actually intended for medical purposes. Iconographic depictions of what are believed to be surgical instruments were found on a wall panel in the temple of Kom Ombo, International Journal of Osteoarchaeology Int. J. Osteoarchaeol. 20: 405–423 (2010) Published online 13 March 2009 in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com) DOI: 10.1002/oa.1061 * Correspondence to: Department of Anthropology, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL 32816, USA. e-mail: tdupras@mail.ucf.edu Copyright # 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Received 31 July 2008 Revised 25 November 2008 Accepted 3 December 2008