When do the first instances to orthotics and/or prosthetics appear in the historical or archaeological record?

by anthropology_nerd

While reading through one of my school texts the authors claim the first attempts to analyze gait and build an early prosthesis appear in the Rigveda story of Vispala, who receives an iron leg after losing her original one in battle.

I wondered if the reference was accurate, and if we know of other early uses of orthotics and prosthetics.

Thanks.

Comoquit

The earliest known prosthetic recovered by archaeologists I know of is a wooden big toe prosthetic found attached to an Egyptian mummy dating to between 950 and 710 BC (Nehlich et al. 2000). Other early instances of prosthetic are documented by Finch (2011), who provides a brief overview of the ancient history of prosthetics.

References:

Finch, Jacqueline. The ancient origins of prosthetic medicine. The Lancet 377(9765):548-549.

Nehlich, Andreas G,Albert Zink, Ulrike Szeimies, and Hjalmar G Hagedorn. 2000. Ancient Egyptian prosthesis of the big toe. The Lancet 356 (9248):23-30.