In ancient Chinese texts, nasal amputation is listed among the various corporal punishments inflicted on criminals, but no archaeological evidence of this has ever been found. However, the discovery of a female skeleton dating from the Middle Ages in a cemetery in Henan province, central China, could provide the first proof. The woman's nose appears to have been cut off, yet she continued to live, possibly with a prosthesis, and certainly on the fringes of society. The five corporal punishments in ancient China are well documented through Chinese ideograms. To signify punitive nasal amputation in the oracle bones of the Shang dynasty (1600–1046 BCE), they simply drew a nose and a knife. This type of mutilation was practiced in China since at least the Bronze Age and was already part of the "five punishments" of the Xia dynasty's penal system 4,000 years ago. Rhinotomy was only the fourth punishment in terms of severity, after decapitation, amputation, and castration. Only facial tattooing (initially on the neck, then on the forehead) preceded it, these two forms of punishment being mainly used to punish cattle thieves. Traces of a section are visible at the piriform aperture of the skull. Credits: Yawei Zhou et al., 2026. The middle of her face was disfigured. There was no tangible evidence until the discovery in the Sanzhiyuan cemetery, uncovered in 2018 in the city of Sanmenxia, of a female skeleton in her forties showing signs of disfigurement in the middle of her face. Dated by her bones to the 14th century (Yuan or Ming dynasty), the deceased was probably buried on her stomach, face down. She is the only one in the entire cemetery to be buried in this way, and since this burial method could be reserved for criminals, "this suggests that she received a special funeral treatment," write the researchers who examined her in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports. They therefore undertook to study her skull by scanning it with a CT scan to determine if this woman was indeed punished by being deprived of her nose. The nasal bones were sectioned while she was alive. Researchers first identified the amputation by measuring the piriform aperture (the opening located in the middle of the skull at the level of the nose); it is much wider than the average of other women buried at the same site (34.35 cm instead of 25.39). It also appears on the tomographic images that the bones were cut very clearly from bottom to top, and before death, since the edges of the wound, very smooth, had time to heal. However, before considering it a mutilation, it is necessary to consider various pathologies that could lead to the loss of the nose—such as leprosy or syphilis, which can destroy the nasal bones, a tumor, or a congenital malformation. This woman could also have been a victim of a fall or have suffered a blow to the nose, but none of these hypotheses are considered because the researchers find no concurrent traces of these various pathologies on the skeleton. The woman was buried face down, presumably to indicate that she was a criminal. Credits: Yawei Zhou et al., 2026. She may have worn a prosthesis after being treated. Given that the excavations were carried out hastily before the construction of a campus, the authors remain cautious, but they conclude that "the most probable cause of this facial disfigurement is punitive nasal amputation." They also note that the woman was properly treated, as she survived her injury, which could have been fatal if the bleeding had not been stopped. The surgical knowledge of the time was therefore capable of performing the mutilation as well as preventing the infection it could generate. The deceased certainly suffered on the spot, but also afterwards, because without a nose, breathing is impaired, dust is no longer filtered, and the outside air is no longer warmed. She may have worn a prosthesis to conceal her scar, as evidenced by bony growths on the edge of the nasal cavity, which could result from repeated friction. However, marked in the face and thus stigmatized for life, this poor woman—as indicated by her diet—buried with a single copper pin, could only continue to live on the fringes of society.