This Woman Who Lived in 14th-Century China May Have Had Her Nose Cut Off as Punishment for Theft or Adultery

Researchers found signs of healing on her 700-year-old skull, which suggests that she survived the painful sanction—and may even have gone on to wear a prosthesis

Sarah Kuta | Daily Correspondent

September 23, 2026 8:30 a.m.

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Cutting off a person’s nose without anesthesia was one of the “Five Punishments” that could be imposed in ancient China, along with decapitation, limb amputation, castration and facial tattooing. But although nasal amputations appear in historical texts, archaeologists had never found physical evidence of the painful penalty—until now. 

Writing in a new paper published in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, scientists describe the first skeletal evidence of facial mutilation as a form of punishment in ancient China. 

In 2018, archaeologists were called in to survey an area of China’s Henan province ahead of the planned construction of a trade school. Their work revealed a burial ground containing 299 tombs. 

Within the cemetery, they found the remains of a woman between ages 40 and 45 who’d been buried facedown, a position that suggests she may have experienced discrimination. Notably, the researchers didn’t find any other bodies in the cemetery buried this way. She was also buried alone, rather than inside a customary family or communal tomb. 

“We believe this woman was a kind of castoff after death,” study co-author Qian Wang, a biological anthropologist at Texas A&M University, tells Live Science’s Kristina Killgrove. 

Radiocarbon dating revealed that the woman lived between 1298 and 1404 C.E., during either the late Yuan or early Ming dynasty. The tomb’s design pointed to the Yuan dynasty. 

An analysis of her remains suggests that she subsisted primarily on millet and consumed little animal protein, dietary patterns that might indicate her membership in a lower class.

When the researchers took a closer look at her skull, they made some unexpected discoveries. She had an enlarged piriform aperture, or nose opening, and substantial amounts of bone and tissue appeared to have been cut away from bottom to top. 

These unusual features might have stemmed from a birth defect, an accident, a disease or even self-mutilation. However, given her burial position and probable low socioeconomic status, the researchers think the woman’s nose was more likely cut off. 

They suspect she might have been punished for stealing horses or cattle. However, her nose may have been cut off for some other offense, such as adultery. 

Whatever the reason, the woman appears to have received some sort of medical care after the amputation to “stop bleeding, prevent infection and reduce pain,” Wang tells Gizmodo’s Gayoung Lee. Her nasal bones show signs of healing, which means she survived the incident, though researchers think she may have had trouble breathing and moving her upper lip afterward. 

And she may even have tried to resume a normal life. The formation of bone spurs around the nasal opening has led the team to believe that she may have worn a prosthetic nose. 

However, her facedown interment seems to indicate that the people responsible for her burial sought to conceal her disfigurement. During the Yuan dynasty, such burials were sometimes associated with punishment, NewScientist’s Christa Lesté-Lasserre reports. 

“I suspect she lived a difficult life, facing stigma and social challenges,” David Shaye, a surgeon at Harvard University who specializes in face, head and neck procedures and was not involved with the research, tells NewScientist. “Facial deformities can profoundly affect identity, social interaction and a person’s place within a community. In this sense, this archaeological finding connects very directly with challenges that people continue to face today.” 

Though this may be the first documented example of nasal amputation, it likely won’t be the last. Now that researchers know what to look for, they can examine other ancient remains for similar injuries, Elizabeth Berger, a bioarchaeologist at the University of California, Riverside who was not involved with the research, tells Live Science.

“Hopefully more evidence can be found of who was subjected to this punishment, how it was carried out, and how it was medically managed afterwards, including the use of prosthetics,” she adds.

Sarah Kuta is a writer and editor based in Longmont, Colorado. She covers history, science, travel, food and beverage, sustainability, economics and other topics.