Neanderthal Molar Shows 60,000-Year-Old Dental Drilling, Earliest Such Treatment by 40,000 Years
Updated
Updated · Archaeology Magazine · May 19
Neanderthal Molar Shows 60,000-Year-Old Dental Drilling, Earliest Such Treatment by 40,000 Years
5 articles · Updated · Archaeology Magazine · May 19
A lower molar from Siberia’s Chagyrskaya Cave carries a deep hole into the pulp cavity, which researchers say was deliberately drilled to relieve pain from an infected cavity.
Experiments on modern teeth indicated a small stone point most likely made the opening, suggesting Neanderthals used precise tools and understood where the pain originated.
More than 40,000 years earlier than any previously known example, the find is the earliest evidence of this kind of dental treatment and the first documented outside Homo sapiens.
Alisa Zubova of the Russian Academy of Sciences said the tooth shows an unexpectedly intuitive diagnosis and a behavior never before seen in Neanderthals or much later modern humans.
How could a Neanderthal endure a 50-minute root canal with just a stone drill?
This ancient tooth rewrites history, but what other Neanderthal abilities have we overlooked?
Oldest Dental Surgery: 59,000-Year-Old Neanderthal Molar Sheds Light on Ancient Healthcare
Overview
Researchers discovered a 59,000-year-old Neanderthal molar, called Chagyrskaya 64, in Siberia’s Chagyrskaya Cave. This tooth showed a deep cavity with unusual wear and scratch marks. Microscopic analysis and CT scans revealed parallel grooves and V-shaped striations, which matched marks made by a rotating stone tool, likely made from jasper. The evidence suggests that a Neanderthal intentionally drilled the tooth to relieve intense pain caused by severe tooth decay. This finding shows that Neanderthals had advanced technical skills and problem-solving abilities, pushing back the history of dental treatment by tens of thousands of years.