The Romans also performed plastic cosmetic surgery. The Romans were able to perform simple techniques, such as repairing damaged ears, from around the 1st century BC. For religious reasons, they did not dissect either human beings or animals, thus their knowledge was based in its entirety on the texts of their Greek predecessors. Notwithstanding, Aulus Cornelius Celsus left some surprisingly accurate anatomical descriptions,[16] some of which — for instance, his studies on the genitalia and the skeleton — are of special interest to plastic surgery.[17]