Neanderthals Drilled Their Teeth 59,000 Years Ago, Scientists Say

A find from southern Siberia suggests that Neanderthals were using stone tools to treat their teeth as early as 59,000 years ago. The molar tooth discovered contained a deep hole that researchers believe was created during the owner's lifetime using a sharp stone tool.

Microscopic images revealed severe tooth decay and traces of hand drilling. Scientists describe the find as the oldest known evidence of dental intervention and the first such case outside the species Homo sapiens.

Archaeologists from the Russian Academy of Sciences say the discovery confirms the cognitive sophistication of Neanderthals and challenges the notion that they were a primitive species. They describe it as evidence of both complex thinking and invasive medical intervention.

Experiments on modern human teeth showed that creating a similar hole using a narrow stone tool required between 35 and 50 minutes of continuous work. The procedure must have been extremely painful, but may have relieved pressure caused by infection in the short term.

(guardian, bak)