The World's Oldest Prosthetics are also Egyptian
A 3,000-Year old artificial toe from Ancient Egypt is thought to be the world’s earliest functional prosthetic body part. It was discovered in a tomb near the city of Luxor in 1997 attached to a mummy of a woman named “Ta bakit an mut”. This woman was the daughter of “Amun” a priest who lived in Egypt during the transition period of the 3 rd dynasty of ancient Egypt (710-915 B.C) . Necessity is the mother of invention “Ta bakit an mut” suffered from Atherosclerosis and had her big toe (the hallux) amputated through a skillfully performed surgical procedure using advanced medicine in ancient Egypt. This resulted in complete healing of the skin naturally. It is known that the big toe carries 40% of the body weight and is responsible for forwarding propulsion. Since the ancient Egyptians used to walk in sandals, it was necessary to make a prosthetic device so that “Ta bakit an mut” can lead a normal life. The ancient prosthetic toe display at the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization,