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🇬🇷 Greece /Health & Science

Archaeological bombshell: Neanderthals performed 'dental surgery' 59,000 years ago

From Ta Nea · () Greek

Translated from Greek and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • A 59,000-year-old Neanderthal tooth found in Siberia shows the earliest known evidence of dental intervention for cavities.
  • Researchers identified a deep hole in the tooth, suggesting a tool was used to relieve pain.
  • This finding challenges the stereotype of Neanderthals as primitive beings, indicating they possessed cognitive abilities similar to modern humans.

A remarkable discovery in a Siberian cave has unearthed evidence of sophisticated behavior among Neanderthals, pushing back the timeline for dental intervention by nearly 59,000 years. The ancient tooth, found in the Chagyrskaya cave in the Altai Mountains, reveals a deep, irregular hole that researchers believe was created by a tool to alleviate the pain of a cavity. This finding, published in PLOS One, represents the earliest known instance of humans attempting to treat tooth decay.

What impressed me the most was the individual's instinctive understanding of the source of the pain and the realization that they could remove it.

· Alisa ZubovaSenior researcher at the Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography of the Russian Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg, commenting on the Neanderthal's actions.

Alisa Zubova, a senior researcher at the Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography, expressed astonishment at the Neanderthal's apparent understanding of the pain's source and the instinct to relieve it. The wear patterns on the tooth suggest the individual continued to use it after the intervention, indicating a successful, albeit likely painful, procedure. This discovery strongly supports the view that Neanderthals possessed cognitive and psychological capabilities comparable to our own, dismantling long-held stereotypes of them as simple or primitive beings.

This shows us that the emotional and conscious parts of the Neanderthal mind were functioning independently, just like in modern humans.

· Alisa ZubovaSenior researcher at the Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography of the Russian Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg, explaining the implications of the discovery for Neanderthal cognition.

Ksenia Kolobova, head of the Digital Archaeology Laboratory at the Russian Academy of Sciences, noted that this targeted medical act goes beyond observed self-healing behaviors in other primates. While Neanderthals are known to have cared for their group members, this specific intervention suggests a more advanced understanding of health and a proactive approach to managing pain. The evidence, including stone tools found at the same site, points to a deliberate and skillful attempt to address a dental issue, offering a profound glimpse into the lives and capabilities of our extinct relatives.

Neanderthals seem to have provided care for their group members with injuries or hearing loss, sharing food or offering protection.

· Ksenia KolobovaHead of the Digital Archaeology Laboratory at the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Novosibirsk, comparing the discovery to other forms of Neanderthal care.
About this summary

Originally published by Ta Nea in Greek. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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