[ti:Earliest Medical Operation Might Have Been 31,000 Years Ago] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.04]A new study provides the earliest known evidence of amputation [00:06.92]– the medical term for cutting off a part of a person's body. [00:12.16]Around 31,000 years ago, a young adult had their left foot [00:18.24]and part of their left leg removed [00:21.44]in what is modern-day Indonesia, the study suggests. [00:26.68]Scientists say the amputation was performed when the person [00:32.04]was a child — and that the individual went on to live for years. [00:38.88]The ancient surgery suggests that humans were carrying out [00:43.08]medical operations much earlier than scientists had thought. [00:48.60]The findings are in a study, which was published in Nature. [00:53.76]Tim Maloney of Griffith University in Australia [00:58.56]was the study's lead researcher. [01:01.36]Maloney said that researchers were exploring a cave in Borneo, [01:06.76]a rainforest area known for ancient rock art, [01:10.76]when they came across the person's burial. [01:14.40]Although much of the skeleton remained, [01:17.40]it was missing its left foot [01:19.76]and the lower part of its left leg, Maloney explained. [01:25.32]After examining the remains, [01:28.12]the researchers concluded the foot bones [01:31.00]were not missing from the burial or lost in an accident. [01:35.96]Instead, the bones had been carefully removed. [01:40.16]The remaining leg bone [01:42.36]showed a clean cut that healed over, Maloney said. [01:47.72]There were no signs of infection, which would be expected [01:52.00]if the child had gotten its leg bitten off [01:55.24]by a creature like a crocodile. [01:57.96]And there were also no signs of a crushing fracture, [02:02.64]which would have been expected [02:04.88]if the leg had been cut off in an accident. [02:08.24]The evidence suggests that the ancient people knew enough [02:12.68]about medicine to perform surgery [02:15.60]without fatal blood loss or infection, the writers said. [02:20.68]Researchers do not know what kind of tool was used [02:25.24]to amputate the limb, or how infection was prevented. [02:30.08]But, they believe that a sharp stone tool may have made the cut, [02:35.68]and some of the plant life in the area [02:39.08]could have been used for medical treatment. [02:43.16]Scientists believe that the community cared [02:46.52]for the child for years afterward. [02:50.52]Surviving as an amputee in a land with steep hills [02:54.76]and thick forests would not have been easy, the study said. [02:59.96]The child appears to have lived for around six [03:03.72]to nine more years after losing the limb, [03:07.64]eventually dying from unknown causes [03:10.96]as a young adult, researchers said. [03:14.80]This early surgery "rewrites the history [03:18.16]of human medical knowledge and developments," [03:21.24]Maloney said at a press conference. [03:24.36]Before this find, the earliest example of amputation [03:29.16]had been in a French farmer from 7,000 years ago. [03:33.96]The farmer had part of his forearm removed. [03:38.64]Scientists had thought that medical methods developed [03:42.28]around 10,000 years ago. [03:45.36]At that time, more humans began living [03:48.64]in agricultural societies, the study writers said. [03:53.00]But this study adds to growing evidence [03:56.40]that humans started caring for each other's health [03:59.64]much earlier than scientists had thought, said Alecia Schrenk. [04:04.88]She was not involved with the study. [04:08.36]Schrenk is an anthropologist at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. [04:14.56]"It had long been assumed healthcare [04:17.00]is a newer invention," Schrenk said in an email. [04:21.44]"Research like this article demonstrates that prehistoric peoples [04:26.00]were not just left to fend for themselves." [04:31.44]I'm John Russell. 更多听力请访问51VOA.COM