2,000-year-old skeletons — with missing legs — reveal punishments in ancient China
Two ancient graves were recently unearthed in China, both of which contained the skeletal remains of men with amputated legs.
The discoveries shed light on draconian punishments doled out thousands of years ago, according to a study published on March 16 in the journal Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences.
Found in Sanmenxia, about 500 miles southwest of Beijing, the graves date to between 2,300 and 2,500 years ago.
The remains of the men buried inside bore “remarkably similar” amputations — with one missing the bottom fifth of his right leg, and the other missing the same portion of his left leg.
They appeared to have fallen victim to a criminal punishment known as Yue, which is associated with the Eastern Zhou Dynasty.
“Based on penal laws of the Zhou Dynasty, Yue, or punitive amputation, was executed in criminal cases including deceiving the monarch, fleeing from duties, stealing, and so on,” Qian Wang, a paleoanthropologist at Texas A&M University and study author, said in a May 16 university news release.
Though it’s not clear which crimes the men were accused of, it’s likely that they differed in seriousness since, historically, right legs were removed for more severe crimes, Wang said.
Additionally, both injuries showed signs of healing, indicating the men continued to live for an unknown number of years following their punishments.
“Since amputation by penalty was not an uncommon phenomenon, they might (have) returned to normal social life and were buried in a proper manner after death,” Wang said.
The men also bore another resemblance: They both appeared to have been low-level aristocrats.
Researchers were able to determine their class because the men were buried in two-layered coffins, which were associated with higher ranking individuals — while seven layers were reserved for kings and five for regional leaders.
Additionally, the existence of grave goods — including stone tablets and pots — further indicates they were members of an elite class.
“These cases enrich our understanding of the penal laws and their implementations, medical care capabilities, and the general benevolent attitudes towards those who were punished by law from the social and archaeological contexts of ancient China,” Wang said.
This story was originally published May 21, 2024 at 9:12 AM with the headline "2,000-year-old skeletons — with missing legs — reveal punishments in ancient China."