While today’s prosthetics strive to surpass natural human abilities, their earliest versions sought to copy and recreate the body’s structure.
The earliest prosthesis, possibly placed around 950 BC, was discovered in Cairo on the body of an ancient Egyptian noblewoman. They were constructed mainly from wood, molded and stained, and their sections were linked with leather threads. For example, the prosthetic finger – one of the oldest prosthetic toes in the world – is rendered incredibly lifelike, with curved nails sunk into a similarly curved bed. Known as the “Cairo Toe”, it is not only a prosthetic, but also an aesthetic one, a testament to the development of biological replication technology since ancient times.
The Cairo Toe, 700-950 B.C.
Compared to today’s prosthetics, especially modern prosthetic legs, many of which are inspired by bionics and robotics technology, the Cairo Toe seems less “humanly” created. rather than “robots”. Stories of robotized prosthetic hands or prosthetic legs created from LEGO are part of the next trend in prosthetics, using 3D technology, robotics and chemistry to overcome the limits of nature. nature of the human body.
The Cartonnage Toe, 600 B.C.
While these advances bring significant improvements to the lives of those who need them, it is also important to note that their goal is not just to replace but also to improve and enhance the body. This brings us back to the wooden toe in Cairo, symbolizing the first of prosthe
Roman artificial leg, 300 B.C.
hich did not aim to improve upon nature but instead treated the body as a pure, moldable model following the curves and planes of the human form. By the time we started thinking about more lifelike and realistic prosthetics, it took a lot of time.
War Prostheses of the Middle Ages and Renaissance
