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More resourceful than is believed, Neanderthal man. Using a mysterious tool, a prehistoric man tried to cure a toothache, reveals a study carried out on a skeleton of the archaeological site of Krapina in Croatia.
130,000 years ago, suffering from a toothache, a Neanderthal man decided to take the problem with his own body and to take care of himself. One hundred years ago, the fossilized teeth of a skeleton were found at the Krapina site in Croatia. They have just been analyzed by researchers at the University of Kansas. In a study published in the bi-annual journal Bulletin of the International Association for Paleodontology on Monday, June 19, scientists claim that our ancestors were already tampering with their teeth to treat them.
On four teeth, on the left side of the skeleton jaw, scientists found traces of grooves, grooves and significant irritations, signs that the teeth were manipulated but also realigned. The researchers observed that a premolar and a molar were slightly moved from their original position.
"The scratches show that the individual had pushed something against his teeth to rotate this premolar," says David Frayer, one of the authors of the study.
What could be the cause of these manipulations? Without being able to establish exactly what evil it was, scientists estimate - in view of the depth and number of marks of irritation - that this poor man must seriously suffer the martyr. "Taken as a whole, all these elements suggest a dental problem that the man would have faced and tried to treat himself," says David Frayer.
It remains to be seen what tool could have been used to carry out this care, and whether this practice was isolated or widespread. For the time being, the oldest dental surgery operation dates back 14,000 years. Analysis of a molar from a homo habilis skeleton had established that a flint had been used to drill the damaged tooth.
Atteint d'un mal de dent infernal, un homme de Néandertal s'est improvisé dentiste
More resourceful than is believed, Neanderthal man. Using a mysterious tool, a prehistoric man tried to cure a toothache, reveals a study carried out on a skeleton of the archaeological site of Krapina in Croatia.
130,000 years ago, suffering from a toothache, a Neanderthal man decided to take the problem with his own body and to take care of himself. One hundred years ago, the fossilized teeth of a skeleton were found at the Krapina site in Croatia. They have just been analyzed by researchers at the University of Kansas. In a study published in the bi-annual journal Bulletin of the International Association for Paleodontology on Monday, June 19, scientists claim that our ancestors were already tampering with their teeth to treat them.
On four teeth, on the left side of the skeleton jaw, scientists found traces of grooves, grooves and significant irritations, signs that the teeth were manipulated but also realigned. The researchers observed that a premolar and a molar were slightly moved from their original position.
"The scratches show that the individual had pushed something against his teeth to rotate this premolar," says David Frayer, one of the authors of the study.
What could be the cause of these manipulations? Without being able to establish exactly what evil it was, scientists estimate - in view of the depth and number of marks of irritation - that this poor man must seriously suffer the martyr. "Taken as a whole, all these elements suggest a dental problem that the man would have faced and tried to treat himself," says David Frayer.
It remains to be seen what tool could have been used to carry out this care, and whether this practice was isolated or widespread. For the time being, the oldest dental surgery operation dates back 14,000 years. Analysis of a molar from a homo habilis skeleton had established that a flint had been used to drill the damaged tooth.
Atteint d'un mal de dent infernal, un homme de Néandertal s'est improvisé dentiste
