Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37002337›Full record

ArticleScientific reports2023

First osteological evidence of severed hands in Ancient Egypt.

Julia Gresky, Manfred Bietak, Emmanuele Petiti, Christiane Scheffler, Michael Schultz

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Scientific reports, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Julia GreskyDivision of Natural Sciences, German Archaeological Institute, Im Dol 2-6, 14195, Berlin, Germany. Julia.gresky@dainst.de.
Manfred BietakAustrian Archaeological Institute, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Dr. Ignaz Seipel-Platz 2, 1010, Vienna, Austria.
Emmanuele PetitiDivision of Natural Sciences, German Archaeological Institute, Im Dol 2-6, 14195, Berlin, Germany.
Christiane SchefflerHuman Biology, University Potsdam, Maulbeerallee 12a, 14469, Potsdam, Germany.
Michael SchultzInstitute of Anatomy and Embryology, Göttingen University Medical School, Kreuzbergring 36, 37075, Göttingen, Germany.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

For the first time, the severed right hands of 12 individuals have been analysed osteologically. The hands were deposited in three pits within a courtyard in front of the throne room of a 15th Dynasty (c.1640-1530 BC) Hyksos palace at Avaris/Tell el-Dab'a in north-eastern Egypt. Although this kind of practice is known from tomb or temple inscriptions and reliefs from the New Kingdom onwards, this is the first time that physical evidence has been used to learn more about the procedure and the individuals whose hands were taken. Here, we show that the right hands belonged to at least 12 adults, 11 males, and possibly one female. It is unclear if the hands were taken from dead or living individuals. After removing any attached parts of the forearm, the hands were placed in the ground with wide-splayed fingers, mainly on their palmar sides. The osteological analysis not only supports the archaeological interpretation of this evidence but also adds more detail regarding trophy-taking practices in Ancient Egypt.

Indexed as

ArchaeologyOsteologyAdultEgyptEgypt, AncientFemaleHistory, AncientHumansMalePhysical Examination

Identifiers

PMID37002337
PMCPMC10066219

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.