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Anthropology professor's studies suggest Neanderthals used ancient form of dentistry
Contributed photo Professor David Frayer's discovery of grooves in the teeth of a fossil suggests that Neathderthals used an ancient form of dentistry.
Contributed photo
- LIBBY FLOOD
@libbyflood13
**Contributed photo**
A series of grooves, likely self-inflicted by a primitive toothpick, suggests that the Neadertal whose fossilized remains were found in Curausta used a kind of ancient dentistry to relieve tooth pain.
Contributed photo whose fossilized
Neanderthals, modern humanity's prehistoric ancestors, are often thought of as subhuman — archaic, feral versions of ourselves. But a University professor has recently made a discovery that proves that perhaps our prehistoric ancestors weren't so different from us after all.
Through the study of fossils uncovered near the Croatian town of Krapina, professor emeritus of anthropology David Frayer discovered multiple toothpick grooves in the teeth of one Neanderthal, indicating that they had attempted to relieve the pain of a toothache.
"It was four teeth on the left side [of the mouth]," Frayer said. One of the teeth was twisted out of place and pushed toward the cheek side, while another was rotated so that the cheek side was in the chewing position. "The four teeth had a total of six toothpick grooves, and the premolar showed signs that the individual had rubbed something hard against it on the chewing surface."
Frayer said the study of these teeth indicates a kind of prehistoric dentistry.
"The toothpick grooves, scratches on the P4, and broken lingual edges on all the teeth seems to be some kind of intervention," he said.
The Neanderthal fossils studied by Frayer were among more than 800 human fossils excavated from a cave near Krapina over a
century ago. Frayer has been studying these Croatian remains for about 20 years, but recently re-examined the teeth in question with the help of Davorka Radovic, curator at the Croatian Natural History Museum. Frayer and Radovic studied the teeth under a light microscope to document scratches on the teeth and fractures in the enamel.
David Frayer Professor emeritus of anthropology
These discoveries are fascinating."
The resulting study, published in The Bulletin of the International Association for Paleodontology, was coauthored by Frayer, Radovic and Janet Monge, adjunct associate professor of anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania. However, these academics were not the only ones to contribute to the study. Joseph Gatti, local Lawrence dentist and longtime friend of Frayer, served as a fresh pair of eyes for the project.
Frayer and Gatti have known each other for more than 30 years, and Frayer has occasionally asked Gatti for input on his studies of Neanderthal teeth. This time, their collaboration was more substantial.
"It started off as dinner conversation," Gatti said on his involvement in the study. Frayer had asked for his opinion on the cause of the teeth grooves and scratches, wanting to verify that the damages hadn't occurred after the individual had died. "But these fracture lines are very consistent with what I see in dentistry today, so I was able to help point out how these fracture lines could have occurred."
It all came down to the fracture patterns, Gatti said. By examining these patterns, he was able to provide his clinical perspective that, like Frayer had guessed, the damages were likely a self-inflicted attempt to relieve a common toothache.
The significance of this discovery, according to Frayer, lies in the similarities between this prehistoric attempt at dental treatment and what modern humans might do to treat their own toothache.
"They had a lot of behavioral qualities we ascribe to us," Frayer said. In addition to personal dentistry, Frayer and Radovec also discovered that these Krapina Neanderthals were using eagle
talons to create jewelry.
The two studies indicate that, like modern homo sapiens, these prehistoric humans used tools to modify their environment.
"The Krapina fossils were discovered over 100 years ago, but nobody paid attention to them." Frayer said. "These discoveries are fascinating."