China finds likely world's first example of nose amputation as punishment — Live Science
In Henan province in eastern China, archaeologists examined the skull of a woman who lived about 700 years ago and survived a partial nose amputation. The authors of a new study consider this case likely the world’s first archaeological example of nose amputation as punishment, Live Science reports.
Burial on the outskirts of the cemetery
The skeleton of a middle-aged woman was discovered in 2019 among about 300 other remains during excavations at the Sanzhiyuan cemetery. She was buried face down in a wooden coffin on the southern outskirts of the cemetery; the only accompanying item was a copper hairpin.
Radiocarbon dating showed that the woman lived between 1298 and 1404, during the Yuan dynasty or at the beginning of the Ming dynasty. During the initial salvage excavations conducted before construction, the unusual changes to the skull were not recognized. They were noticed only in 2024, when Zhengzhou University archaeologist Yawei Zhou analyzed remains from this cemetery.
Signs of injury healing
The researchers noted an enlarged pear-shaped aperture, the anatomical term for the skull’s nasal opening. They determined that both nasal bones had been partially removed, leaving about half of the nasal bridge intact. Fractures with signs of healing along the edges were also found on several bones inside the nose.
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According to the scientists’ assessment, this indicates that the woman lived for several more years after the injury. The authors did not completely rule out that the deformation could have resulted from disease or a congenital defect. At the same time, they called nose amputation as punishment for a crime the most likely explanation, also taking into account the unusual face-down burial.
Study co-author, biological anthropologist Qian Wang, suggested that the reasons for the punishment could have included livestock theft or adultery. According to the study, in early dynastic China, nose amputation without anesthesia was one of the so-called five punishments, alongside tattooing, foot amputation, castration, and the death penalty. Archaeologists also associate information about such punishment with inscriptions on oracle bones from the Shang dynasty.
Independent bioarchaeologist Elizabeth Berger of the University of California, Riverside, who was not involved in the study, said that the work convincingly supports the theory of punitive nose amputation.
