Peglegs, Fake Toes, and Other Prosthetics from History

Despite modern medicine having only existed for the last hundred years; prosthetics are one piece of medical technology that has existed for thousands of years. These devices have been made of everything from metal to wood, and even paper mâché. Yet regardless they always fulfilled their job, to replace missing limbs or other body parts. To start our journey through the history of prosthetics, we will go back in time to its oldest use in Egypt.

In 1997, the German Institute of Archeology discovered a tomb found within Theban Necropolis. This tomb, according to a paper written by the Lancet, had a body with a wooden prosthetic toe. Both the body and the toe were dated to around 1065-740 BC. This is not only the oldest prosthetic ever discovered but has also been used as evidence of surgery done during the early stages of human civilization.

Image of one of the Capua Leg's copies

Going forward a thousand years, we find ourselves in the home of another first in prosthetics history. Here, in the ancient city of Capua, situated on the Italian peninsula, is the Capua Leg. Andreas Otte and Simon Hazubski write that this was the oldest prosthetic leg. However, it was destroyed during the World War 2 German air raids on London, where it was kept at the time. UPMC says in an article that the original was made from bronze, iron, and wood. Much later, a replica was made, which now sits in the London Science Museum.

Continuing through UPMC’s article, we come to the medieval period in Europe. This era gave way to simplistic prosthetics such as Peg legs and hand hooks. However, wealthy individuals, such as nobility and knights of high status, have been found with more intricate devices. One such device was a metal hand that could grasp. Rachael Gillibrand writes that a knight named Gottfried Gotz commissioned one of these hands after his lower arm was shot off by a cannon. Originally Gotz became suicidal after the incident, realizing he would be useless as a knight. Although; he wasn’t the first, having got the idea from a previous knight who wore this device as well.

A Portrait of Ambroise Pare

Several centuries later, we come to Ambroise Pare, who gave way to modern prosthetics. According to Synergy DMEPOS, Pare is widely considered the father of modern surgery and he significantly improved the survival rate of amputations. He also developed above-knee prosthetics, which, unlike below-knee, required a mechanism to recreate the bending motion of a knee.

Prosthetics slowly get better at replicating human movements, as we make our way to the invention of myoelectric prosthetics. As stated by Amber Henson on ArmDynamic.com, these types of prosthetics are controlled via electrical signals in nerves; rather than a series of mechanical parts. This change has helped with adding dexterity, which has proved important when replicating the complex movements of hands.

Prosthetics have evolved alongside technological advancements throughout history. And what started as a fake toe in ancient Egypt, has slowly grown into increasingly advanced pieces of technology. Yet regardless of the time, all prosthetics were created to serve the same purpose, to replace a missing limb.

My name is Edwin M. W. Smith I am a science fantasy writer who has been writing fiction seriously for around four years and currently attending Algonquin College. I also compose classical and jazz music on Muscore and have learned to play clarinet, soprano and alto recorders, violin, and some guitar. In addition to these things, I’m also a self-taught artist on Gallea.