A woman who lived approximately 3,000 years ago in ancient China discovered her remains without a foot. According to a new study, the dismemberment procedure was not for medical purposes but rather a form of punishment for criminals during the time.
Amputation as Punishment in Ancient China
The rough endings on the bones of the lower right leg suggest the amputation was inflicted as a punishment and was not the result of an accident or disease.
The discovery aligns with an ancient Chinese punishment called 'yue.' Up to this date, there was only a little evidence showing the existence of the thousand-year-old practice.
Experts determined that the cut was related to the Yue tradition. Findings show that the foot of the woman was decapitated with an unusual method. The limb did not show any disease that required an intensive procedure.
Compared with other ancient cuts related to medical amputations, this particular bone shows an uneven structure, suggesting that the process was rough and was not meant for treating the person.
Peking University of China archaeology specialist and lead author of the study Lin Nan explained in a report by Live Science that the team looked at other possibilities that led to the detachment of the woman's foot, including accidents, surgical procedures, and even war-related injuries.
However, intensive observations have ruled out all these possibilities and led the experts to agree that the cut was a crime-related amputation procedure, Li Nan continued.
The Yue is a common punishment in ancient China that was utilized for over 1,000 years. Tsinghua China Law Review said that the method was finally abolished in the second century BC.
When Yue punishment was still active, criminals who only reached at least 500 counts of offense would be subjected to amputation. Li Nan explained that the unlawful acts include cheating, rebellion, stealing, and even simple reasons such as climbing at important gates of the kingdom.
Despite the number of reasons one could be given the Yue punishment, the authors could not get a hint of the crime and other possible reasons why the woman was subjected to the gruesome procedure.
Yue and Other Punishments for Slaves
In a separate study, Yue was among the five major punishments given to slaves of the time. The method was enforced until the second millennium BC, during the reign of the first dynasty of China led by the Xia emperors.
In a paper titled "The Death Penalty in Traditional China," the Yue punishment exists along with the embedding of ink tattoo on the forehead (mo), cutting-off of nose (yi), and castration (gong). The fifth (gong) varies from beheading, boiling the criminal alive, and the dismemberment of all limbs by moving horses.
All of these forms were removed by the Han dynasty's Emperor Wen. Since then, the punishment ranged from paying fines, hard labor, and humane executions.
The woman, who was at least 30 to 35 years old, was first excavated back in 1999 from the site of Zhouyuan, located in the northwestern Shaanxi province. The woman's remains dated exactly to when the province was part of the powerful regions across ancient China. Only a few shells were discovered from the person's tomb, suggesting that the woman lived in poverty and was buried by her own family.
The study was published in the journal Acta Anthropologica Sinica.
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