"“Treating a carious (decayed) tooth is not just feeding or guarding someone,” Dr Ksenia Kolobova, one of the study's authors, said. “It requires diagnosing the source of pain, selecting an appropriate tool, performing a painful, invasive action, and persisting despite the patient's discomfort. That is active, targeted medical intervention.”"
"“It suggests Neanderthals understood cause and effect. This is a cognitive leap beyond instinct.”"
"For the new study, published in the journal Plos One, researchers analysed a single molar found in the Chagyrskaya Cave in Russia which dates back around 59,000 years. In the centre of the tooth is a deep hole extending into the pulp cavity. This would have allowed for the removal of decayed tissue."
"The researchers conducted experiments on three modern human teeth to demonstrate that a hole of the same shape and same patterns of microscopic grooves can be created by drilling into the tooth with a stone point similar to tools that have been found within Chagyrskaya Cave. “The individual with the infected molar would have been in significant pain, perhaps unable to chew properly, which could lead to malnutrition or infection spreading to the jawbone,” Dr Kolobova explained."
A Neanderthal molar from Chagyrskaya Cave shows a deep hole extending into the pulp cavity, consistent with removal of decayed tissue. The tooth’s internal shape and microscopic groove patterns match drilling made with a stone point similar to tools found at the site. The treatment implies identifying an infected tooth, selecting an appropriate tool, performing a painful invasive procedure, and continuing despite discomfort. The evidence represents the oldest known successful dental treatment outside Homo sapiens. The likely outcome would have been reduced pain and prevention of infection spreading to the jawbone, avoiding malnutrition and further health complications.
Read at Mail Online
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