How a 2,500-Year-Old Siberian Mummy Revealed One of the Earliest Jaw Surgeries in Human History

In the frozen terrain of southern Siberia, archaeologists occasionally dig up a frozen-in-time burial site. One such discovery was recently made, which has surprised medical historians researching the history of medicine.

A mummified female, who lived 2,500 years ago, was found to have lived through a complex surgical procedure on her jawbone, a level of medical understanding rarely associated with the Iron Age nomadic people.

She was a Pazyryk, a group of horse-riding nomads who lived in the Altai Mountains of southern Siberia, Russia. Their burial sites are of great archaeological interest because of the frozen terrain, which preserved the dead, their clothing, and other items they carried with them during their time.


However, the most interesting part of this discovery was what was preserved inside her bones, specifically her jawbone.

Signs of a deliberate surgical procedure, which helped stabilize the joint of the jawbone with the skull, were detected in her remains, according to archaeological reports cited in Live Science, which were more recently analyzed through imaging scans. She was clearly subjected to a surgical procedure, which was akin to early reconstructive jaw surgery.

Evidence of a Carefully Planned Surgery

When the skull was scanned using modern CT technology, two channels were found that were drilled into the right temporomandibular joint.

The temporomandibular joint is the hinge that connects the jaw and allows it to move when speaking and eating.

The two channels were too precise to be the result of any natural damage.

The examination described in the Live Science report about the Scythian woman’s jawbone indicated that the ancient surgeons inserted horse hair into the channels.

The horse hair is natural and would have acted as a stabilizing mechanism to keep the jaw joint aligned as it healed.

As researchers who have been looking at this case have described, it works in much the same way as any prosthetic device.

While it may seem unusual to use organic materials in medical repair, it is evidence of the ingenuity of healers in past times, working with the resources that were available to them. According to Ancientist, it is reported that this method kept some movement in the jaw rather than leaving it locked.

The operation would have required both practical knowledge of anatomy and experience with injuries.

Studies of the Pazyryk culture published in the journal Antiquity have previously shown that these communities possessed sophisticated craft traditions and complex social networks across Central Asia. The jaw surgery now suggests that practical medical knowledge may also have been part of their culture.

Signs the Patient Survived the Operation

Perhaps the strongest evidence of successful treatment comes from the bone itself.

Researchers found clear signs of bone remodeling around the drilled canals. This type of healing occurs only when a person survives long enough for new bone to grow and strengthen the area after injury.

Dental wear patterns provided another clue.

The teeth on the left side of the woman’s mouth show heavier use than those on the right. Scientists believe she avoided chewing on the injured side because it likely caused discomfort.

This behavior suggests that she adapted to the injury and continued living with the repaired jaw.

The discovery fits into a wider picture of ancient medical experimentation. Archaeologists have already documented early surgical practices such as trepanation, a procedure where small holes were drilled into the skull to treat head injuries. Reviews of ancient trepanation cases published in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology show that many patients survived these operations as well.

Collectively, these examples demonstrate that ancient civilizations were capable of much more complex healthcare systems than previously thought.

The Siberian Mummy is an important part of this history.

With the advent of CT scanning technology, researchers are able to learn much more from the fragile remains of the past, something that earlier archaeologists might have easily overlooked. Each discovery is part of a growing history of how early civilizations might have handled injuries, knowledge, and each other.

In this case, a woman who lived in the Siberian Mountains thousands of years ago has quietly contributed to a growing realization that the history of surgery might be much older and much more sophisticated than anyone had ever imagined.