 MORE THAN **25** YEARS OF DENTAL EXCELLENCE | |  ISO 9001:2000 CERTIFIED |
A2 AASHIRWAD, II CROSS LANE, LOKHANDWALA COMPLEX, ANDHERI (WEST), MUMBAI 400053, INDIA | 2632 8682 / 3082 7053 / 98193 63215 |
MORE THAN **25** YEARS OF DENTAL EXCELLENCE | | ISO 9001:2000 CERTIFIED |
A2 AASHIRWAD, II CROSS LANE, LOKHANDWALA COMPLEX, ANDHERI (WEST), MUMBAI 400053, INDIA | 2632 8682 / 3082 7053 / 98193 63215 |
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DENTAL NEWS ARCHIVES 232 |
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4,500-year-old dental work foundTHURSDAY, JUNE 15, 2006: Researchers report
Wednesday that they found a 4,500-year-old burial in Mexico that had the
oldest known example of dental work in the Americas.
The upper front teeth of the remains had been ground down so they
could be mounted with animal teeth, possibly wolf or panther teeth, for
ceremonial purposes, according to researchers led by Tricia
Gabany-Guerrero of the University of Connecticut.
"It's like he was using the mouth of some other animal in his
mouth," explained James Chatters, an archaeologist and paleontologist with
AMEC Earth and Environmental Inc. in Seattle, Wash., and a member of the
research team.
Such modifications, typically using beasts of prey, became more
common centuries later in the Maya culture, Chatters said in a telephone
interview, but this is the earliest example that has been found.
The individual, aged 28 to 32, would not have been able to bite
with his front teeth but appears to have been well fed nonetheless,
Chatters said. The body indicated he didn't do hard work, perhaps having
been an important person in society.
Found in the Michoacan area, the body had been placed on a large
rock with another rock on top of it, Chatters said.
"The teeth were filed down so much that their pulp cavities were
exposed, leading to an infection," Gabany-Guerrero said in a statement.
"During the Late Post Classic period, shortly before the Spanish
came, we have seen evidence of insertion of turquoise and filed teeth in
different forms, but this is the earliest evidence of a dental
modification by about one thousand years," she said.
The researchers said they found rock art and symbols related to
other ancient cultures in the region including calendar symbols.
In addition to the teeth they found pieces of skull and bones from
his hands, legs and feet. There was no indication of physical problems and
he did not suffer from ailments such as arthritis.
The cause of death was not clear but the researchers said there had
been active infections in two teeth.
Primary funding for the research came from the National Geographic
Society with added support from foundations, academic and governmental
organizations in Mexico and the United States.
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