A Neanderthal dentist manipulated a sharp stone to drill decay out of an infected tooth 59,000 years ago, more than 40,000 years before the first evidence of modern humans carrying out primitive dentistry, according to a study in Russia.
Researchers from the Russian Academy of Sciences examined a molar excavated from Chagyrskaya cave, a site in southwestern Siberia rich in Neanderthal fossils. The tooth had a deep central hole extending into the cavity that once held living material.
Their analysis, published in the journal PLOS One, showed the cavity was not just a consequence of natural decay. The shape and internal scratching were consistent with being created by a small pointed tool made from local jasper stone.
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