3D-Printed Prostheses and Early Modern Iron Hands: A Method to Investigate the Lived Experiences of Amputees in the Premodern World

This article advances a method developed by a historian and a mechanical engineer to learn about premodern amputees. Using a sixteenth-century iron hand from Germany as a foundational case study, the authors illustrate four components of an experimental approach for investigating fragile artifacts of prostheses. First, they present the creation of historically contextualized activities of daily living (ADLs), a concept used in modern prosthesis usability assessments. Second, the authors address the use of computer-aided design (CAD) and 3D printing technology to develop models of artifacts collaboratively. Next, they explain the significance of engaging with external interlocutors with crucial perspectives on disability advocacy and inclusivity. Finally, the authors suggest how to design experiments with ADLs to test 3D-printed models. Together, these components create a physical object and material encounters that can push exploration of prosthetic artifacts—one of the few direct sources of premodern amputees’ lived experience—into a new frontier of research.