Anthropologists from the Ludwik Hirschfeld Institute for Immunology and Experimental Therapy found a first-of-its-kind prosthesis to correct a cleft palate in an 18th-century burial. The study was published in the scientific journal magazine Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports (JASR).
Cleft palate, also known as cleft palate or cleft lip, is a rare malformation accompanied by functional impairment of the maxillofacial region. Today, this defect is corrected surgically.
The work was discovered in the crypt of the Church of St. Francis of Assisi in Krakow. It was located in the oral cavity of the skull of a man who was approximately 50 years old when he died. The unusual implant, the researchers found, was a wool pad sewn to a copper and gold plate that was 3.1 centimeters long and weighed about 5.5 grams.
“This is probably the first discovery of this kind not only in Poland but in all of Europe. “There are no such devices in either public or private collections,” said anthropologist Anna Spinek, lead author of the study.
The scientist added that many works from the 16th century mention prostheses for cleft palate. According to records, these consisted of cotton, wax, silver and wool. Since such implants were specially made from precious metals, only the most noble and wealthy people could afford them.
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