Neanderthals Drilled Cavities to Treat a Toothache 59,000 Years Ago
- On Wednesday, researchers published a study in PLOS One describing a 59,000-year-old Neanderthal molar from Russia's Chagyrskaya Cave featuring a deep hole believed to be evidence of an invasive dental procedure.
- Archaeologist John Olsen of the University of Arizona described the intervention as "basically a root canal," where a Neanderthal used a small stone tool to rotate against the tooth's surface and clean out severely rotten tissue.
- To confirm their theory, co-author Lydia Zotkina and her team replicated the drilling on modern teeth using jasper tools, discovering "clear linear marks typical of a rotating, drilling motion" that matched the ancient molar.
- This discovery suggests Neanderthals possessed the cognitive flexibility to identify pain and perform complex surgery, predating similar Homo sapiens evidence by more than 40,000 years and challenging old stereotypes.
- Evidence of wear on the cavity walls indicates the patient survived and continued chewing for years, proving the intervention was successful; researcher Andrey Krivoshapkin notes this "goes far beyond the instinctive self medication seen in other primates.
40 Articles
40 Articles
Neanderthals possessed the knowledge to identify a dental infection and the motor skills to drill the damaged part with stone tools, as testified by a tooth nearly 60,000 years ago found in the cave of Chagyrsskaya, in Russia.This would be the oldest test of complex dental care and the first outside of Homo sapiens, indicates a study led by the Russian Academy of Sciences and published by Plos One.Archaeological findings have shown that Neandert…
Tooth from Siberian cave reveals Neanderthal dental surgery
About 59,000 years ago, a Neanderthal suffered from an awful toothache caused by a deep cavity in one of the molars on the lower jaw. That tooth has now been discovered inside a Siberian cave, bearing signs of dental surgery apparently performed with a small stone tool to remove decay and relieve pain.
Neanderthals may have drilled out a cavity 59,000 years ago
Over the years, excavations at Chagyrskaya Cave in southwestern Siberia have unearthed an assortment of Paleolithic treasures, including heaps of tools fashioned from stone and bone, alongside fossils from the easternmost population of Neanderthals.And now, in a study published Wednesday in the journal PLOS One, scientists describe the latest discovery from the site — a Neanderthal molar with a depression that they believe is evidence of an anci…
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 52% of the sources are Center
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
