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Faux toes in ancient Egypt |
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By Adam Dubbin
TheSequitur.com Managing Editor
August 9, 2007
 The Cairo Toe. Photo courtesy of the University of Manchester.
The prosthetic appendage was originally found in 2000 by German pathologist Andreas Nerlich attached to an ancient Egyptian mummy, an elder woman believed to have lost her right big-toe to complications from diabetes. But the artifact could very possibly hold many clues about the Egyptians of antiquity, including insight into medical technology, religious practices and everyday vanity.
The faux-toe, which is dated between 2,400 to 3,000 years old based on contextual artifacts, predates what was previously believed to be the oldest prosthesis – the bronze Roman Capua Leg – by at least 300 years. Despite being a few hundred years older than what must have been a cumbersome metal leg, the false phalange was constructed of wood and leather, allowing it to wear in like a new pair of shoes and provide some elasticity for increased comfort for the amputee.
The Cairo Toe also has a companion – the Greville Chester Great Toe, an ancient Egyptian phalange prosthesis made from cartonnage (papier maché consisting of linen, glue and plaster) – which will also be modeled for experimentation by the Human Performance Laboratory at the University of Salford, U.K., to determine the extent of prosthetic function.
But the artifact could very possibly hold many clues about the Egyptians of antiquity, including insight into medical technology, religious practices and everyday vanity.Jacky Finch, a researcher at the University of Manchester KNH Centre for Biomedical Egyptology, is conducting the study. Its pressing question is, “Were these prostheses solely to help the hobbled, aid the aesthetics or both?”
In order to conduct these trials, Ms. Finch is seeking volunteers who are missing their right big-toe to assist her in determining if the digital replacement did in fact help the ancients “walk like an Egyptian.” Thus far, she has faced some difficulty enrolling a roster of those missing their “first little piggy.”
Judging by the photographs and signs of wear that have been reported on both pieces, it would appear that these were designed and constructed for both a pragmatic purpose and an aesthetic application. However, an intangible like Egyptian mythology also may have played a role in the development of prostheses, as the god of the dead, Osiris, was dismembered and reassembled, instituting a motif that has perpetuated the practice of burying bodies completely intact. Because of this, the artifact could also hold ceremonial significance, as it may serve as a device for the spirit to use in the afterlife in the absence of one’s natural appendage.
 The Greville Chester Great Toe. Photo courtesy of the University of Manchester.
Ms. Finch intends to confirm the functional purpose of these artifacts by testing models molded in the likeness of the originals and testing them on modern humans. If the experiments successfully demonstrate that the toes in fact served as functional prostheses, a greater understanding of ancient medicine will be unveiled to archaeologists and paleopathologists.
Historians already know that they were accomplished surgeons, but if the Egyptians were shrewd enough to construct false toes, as well as a wide range of other replacement parts – including noses, ears and even penises – then perhaps the sophistication of their technology is far more vast than we had previously believed. One can only wonder what other medical marvels the Egyptians of antiquity had at their disposal. Stay tuned as archaeologists continue to unlock these fascinating secrets of the past.
[Manchester University, Yahoo, Minnesota State University]
Adam Dubbin, managing editor of TheSequitur.com, is an audiology doctoral candidate. |
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