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Ancient Human Dentures |
Thousands of years before Hollywood stars enhanced their beauty through dental modifications, ancient Mexicans were already using dentures in rituals.
Recently, American researchers announced they discovered a 4,500-year-old burial site in Mexico, containing the oldest evidence of dental modification in the Americas.
The upper incisors of the deceased were filed down to attach to an animal denture, possibly made from wolf or jaguar teeth, for ritualistic purposes.
This type of modification, often using teeth from predatory animals, became more popular in later centuries within the Maya civilization. However, this represents the oldest known evidence of such practices.
The deceased, aged between 28 and 32, may not have been able to bite with his dentures, but he was well-nourished. The body suggests he did not perform heavy labor, indicating he might have been an important figure in society.
“The overly filed teeth exposed the dental pulp, leading to infections“, said Tricia Gabany-Guerrero, an archaeologist at the University of Connecticut in the U.S.
Furthermore, the team also found fragments of skull and bones from the hands and feet. The cause of death has yet to be clearly determined.
M.T.
