guy Posted May 15 Report Share Posted May 15 (edited) Would you want a Neanderthal to perform your dental work? Researchers identified the earliest known case of invasive dental treatment by Neanderthals (~59,000 years ago) on a lower molar (Chagyrskaya 64, pictured below) from Chagyrskaya Cave in the Altai Mountains in southwest Siberia. The tooth shows a large, intentionally drilled concavity that reaches the pulp chamber. Researchers examined the tooth under different kinds of microscopes, took super‑detailed scans, and compared the marks to those that occur naturally, like chewing or wear. Then they tried recreating the same kind of hole using small stone tools similar to those found in the cave. When the marks on their test teeth matched the marks on the real fossil, it helped them confirm that the Neanderthal tooth wasn’t damaged by accident or nature — someone actually drilled into it on purpose. One can wonder what was used as an anesthetic. Ouch. https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2026-05-14/oldest-known-evidence-of-dentistry-found-in-neanderthal-tooth/106660580 https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0347662&utm_source=pr&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=plos006 Edited May 15 by guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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