A CT scan of the mummified remains of a young Siberian woman has revealed that she was fitted with a primitive prosthesis to reconstruct her jaw after suffering a severe head injury some 2,500 years ago.
“This may be the first time we have found evidence of such a surgical procedure, as we have never encountered it before,” Dr. Andrei Lechagin, a radiologist at the Siberian branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, said in a translated statement. [it] in the scientific literature. ”
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The Pazyryk culture was an Iron Age nomadic group related to the Scythians that flourished on the Ukok Plateau of the Altai Republic in southern Siberia. Pazyryk tombs are well known for the excellent preservation of organic remains in the permafrost, including the “Princess of Ukok” whose fantastical animal tattoos were perfectly preserved for more than 2,000 years.
In 1994, archaeologists from the Russian Academy of Sciences excavated a small cemetery consisting of five low mounds on the Ukok Plateau. In one mound, a woman who was around 25 to 30 years old at the time of her death was buried intact. She was lying on a wooden cot and wearing a wig. However, her burial was not fully investigated at the time, as it lacked significant artifacts and only part of her head was mummified.
“The mummified skin fragments of the buried woman’s skull made anthropological studies impossible, but we wanted to know as much as possible about her,” Natalia Polozmak, an archaeologist at the Siberian branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, said in a statement. “I was lucky to have the opportunity to do research in a CT scanner, so I took advantage of it.”
A CT scan of the woman’s skull revealed that the head injury had destroyed her right temporomandibular joint (TMJ). The injury would have left the woman unable to speak or eat normally. The statement said the woman may have fallen and injured herself while galloping, given that the Pazyriks routinely rode horses.
Discovery of “primitive prosthetics”
Although the woman’s injuries were not uncommon, the unique treatment for bone and ligament injuries surprised researchers. Researchers found thin tubes cut through the two bones that make up the woman’s right temporomandibular joint, as well as horse hair and animal tendon holding the joints together inside the tubes.
“This primitive prosthesis preserved the articular surfaces and allowed patients to move their jaws,” Letyagin said. “Although the joint was functioning, she was unable to chew food on the injured side, probably due to severe pain.”
Several sides of the woman’s skull revealed that she lived for months, and in some cases years, after the surgery. New bone tissue had grown around the canal in her right temporomandibular joint, and the teeth on the left side of her jaw were worn and chipped. This suggests that she compensated for the damage on the right side by biting only on the left side.
The people of Pazyryk knew how to perform basic skull surgery even before anesthesia. Evidence of perforation in the form of holes in the skull has been found in some mummies. They also had a deep understanding of human anatomy and dissection, which was necessary for the tradition of mummifying bodies, the statement said. However, this woman’s temporomandibular joint surgery is a rare example of their skill.
Although the woman was buried in a simple manner with no visible remains, the successful surgery on her jaw “shows that her life was valued,” Polozmak said. “This new study provides further important evidence that Pazyriks were able to perform complex surgical procedures to save the lives of their compatriots.”
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