Reply to: Common orthopaedic trauma may explain 31,000-year-old remains

Melandri Vlok^#¹, Tim Maloney^#^{2

3

4}, India Ella Dilkes-Hall^#⁵, Adhi Agus Oktaviana^#^{6

7}, Pindi Setiawan⁸, Andika Arief Drajat Priyatno^#⁹, Marlon Ririmasse⁷, I Made Geria⁷, Muslimin A R Effendy⁹, Budy Istiawan⁹, Falentinus Triwijaya Atmoko⁹, Shinatria Adhityatama⁶, Ian Moffat¹⁰, Renaud Joannes-Boyau^{11

12}, Adam Brumm¹³, Maxime Aubert^#^{14

13

11}

Affiliations

¹ Sydney Southeast Asian Centre, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Melandri.vlok@sydney.edu.au.
² Griffith Centre for Social and Cultural Research, Griffith University, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. t.maloney@griffith.edu.au.
³ Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution, Griffith University, Nathan, Queensland, Australia. t.maloney@griffith.edu.au.
⁴ Research into Deer Genetics and Environment, RIDGE Group Inc, Ascot, Western Australia, Australia. t.maloney@griffith.edu.au.
⁵ Archaeology, School of Social Sciences, University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia.
⁶ School of Humanities, Languages and Social Science, Griffith University, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia.
⁷ BRIN, OR Arkeologi, Bahasa dan Sastra, Pusat Riset Arkeometri, Jakarta, Indonesia.
⁸ Faculty of Art and Design, Bandung Institute of Technology, Bandung, Indonesia.
⁹ Balai Pelestarian Cagar Budaya Kalimantan Timur, Samarinda, Indonesia.
¹⁰ Archaeology, College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, Flinders University, Bedford Park, South Australia, Australia.
¹¹ Geoarchaeology and Archaeometry Research Group (GARG), Southern Cross University, Lismore, New South Wales, Australia.
¹² Palaeo-Research Institute, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa.
¹³ Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution, Griffith University, Nathan, Queensland, Australia.
¹⁴ Griffith Centre for Social and Cultural Research, Griffith University, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia.

^# Contributed equally.

PMID: 36922613
PMCID: PMC10017509
DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-05757-7

Comment

Reply to: Common orthopaedic trauma may explain 31,000-year-old remains

Melandri Vlok et al. Nature. 2023 Mar.

. 2023 Mar;615(7952):E15-E18.

doi: 10.1038/s41586-023-05757-7.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Sydney Southeast Asian Centre, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Melandri.vlok@sydney.edu.au.
² Griffith Centre for Social and Cultural Research, Griffith University, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. t.maloney@griffith.edu.au.
³ Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution, Griffith University, Nathan, Queensland, Australia. t.maloney@griffith.edu.au.
⁴ Research into Deer Genetics and Environment, RIDGE Group Inc, Ascot, Western Australia, Australia. t.maloney@griffith.edu.au.
⁵ Archaeology, School of Social Sciences, University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia.
⁶ School of Humanities, Languages and Social Science, Griffith University, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia.
⁷ BRIN, OR Arkeologi, Bahasa dan Sastra, Pusat Riset Arkeometri, Jakarta, Indonesia.
⁸ Faculty of Art and Design, Bandung Institute of Technology, Bandung, Indonesia.
⁹ Balai Pelestarian Cagar Budaya Kalimantan Timur, Samarinda, Indonesia.
¹⁰ Archaeology, College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, Flinders University, Bedford Park, South Australia, Australia.
¹¹ Geoarchaeology and Archaeometry Research Group (GARG), Southern Cross University, Lismore, New South Wales, Australia.
¹² Palaeo-Research Institute, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa.
¹³ Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution, Griffith University, Nathan, Queensland, Australia.
¹⁴ Griffith Centre for Social and Cultural Research, Griffith University, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia.

^# Contributed equally.

PMID: 36922613
PMCID: PMC10017509
DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-05757-7

No abstract available

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

**Fig. 1. A Salter–Harris type II fracture of left tibia and fibula similar to the one presented by Murphy et al. compared with TB1’s amputation.**
The amputation site is more proximal (white box) to the region of Salter–Harris physeal fractures (white dashed oval). At minimum, three different angles of force are present in TB1’s amputation (red dashed lines) as opposed to one angle of force in Salter–Harris type II. Medial physis fracture of the tibia is absent in TB1 as is necessary for Salter–Harris type II classification with fibular involvement (see figure 1 of Murphy et al.). Scale bar, 10.0 mm.

**Fig. 2. Cloacae of the right femur and tibia compared to carnivore puncture holes of the left tibia.**
a–c, Comparison of cloacae of the right femur (a) and tibia (b) with the carnivore puncture holes of the left tibia (c). The left tibia holes are clearly caused by punctures in dry bone resulting in square jagged margins to the cavities. By contrast, the margins of the holes in the right tibia and femur are rounded due to the constant remodelling process in the development of the cloacae. The femoral cloaca (a) also presents with a clear lytic channel consistent with infection.

See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment on

Surgical amputation of a limb 31,000 years ago in Borneo.
Maloney TR, Dilkes-Hall IE, Vlok M, Oktaviana AA, Setiawan P, Priyatno AAD, Ririmasse M, Geria IM, Effendy MAR, Istiawan B, Atmoko FT, Adhityatama S, Moffat I, Joannes-Boyau R, Brumm A, Aubert M. Maloney TR, et al. Nature. 2022 Sep;609(7927):547-551. doi: 10.1038/s41586-022-05160-8. Epub 2022 Sep 7. Nature. 2022. PMID: 36071168 Free PMC article.
Common orthopaedic trauma may explain 31,000-year-old remains.
Murphy NJ, Davis JS, Tarrant SM, Balogh ZJ. Murphy NJ, et al. Nature. 2023 Mar;615(7952):E13-E14. doi: 10.1038/s41586-023-05756-8. Epub 2023 Mar 15. Nature. 2023. PMID: 36922615 Free PMC article. No abstract available.

References

1. Murphy, J., Davis, J., Tarrant, S. & Balogh, Z. Common orthopaedic trauma may explain 31,000-year-old remains. Nature10.1038/s41586-023-05756-8 (2023). - PMC - PubMed
1. Maloney, T. R. et al. Surgical amputation of a limb 31,000 years ago in Borneo. Nature609, 547–551 (2022). 10.1038/s41586-022-05160-8 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
1. Westberry, D. E., Davids, J. R. & Pugh, L. I. The Boyd amputation in children: indications and outcomes. J. Pediatr. Orthop.34, 86–91 (2014). 10.1097/BPO.0b013e3182a007a0 - DOI - PubMed
1. Krajbich, I. J. Lower-limb deficiencies and amputations in children. JAAOS6, 358–367 (1998). 10.5435/00124635-199811000-00004 - DOI - PubMed
1. Hall, B. K. & Herring, S. Paralysis and growth of the musculoskeletal system in the embryonic chick. J. Morphol.206, 45–56 (1990). 10.1002/jmor.1052060105 - DOI - PubMed

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Reply to: Common orthopaedic trauma may explain 31,000-year-old remains

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Reply to: Common orthopaedic trauma may explain 31,000-year-old remains

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